An improved automatic time-of-flight picker for medical ultrasound tomography

Objective and motivationTime-of-flight (TOF) tomography used by a clinical ultrasound tomography device can efficiently and reliably produce sound-speed images of the breast for cancer diagnosis. Accurate picking of TOFs of transmitted ultrasound signals is extremely important to ensure high-resolution and high-quality ultrasound sound-speed tomograms. Since manually picking is time-consuming for large datasets, we developed an improved automatic TOF picker based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC), as described in this paper.MethodsWe make use of an approach termed multi-model inference (model averaging), based on the calculated AIC values, to improve the accuracy of TOF picks. By using multi-model inference, our picking method incorporates all the information near the TOF of ultrasound signals. Median filtering and reciprocal pair comparison are also incorporated in our AIC picker to effectively remove outliers.ResultsWe validate our AIC picker using synthetic ultrasound waveforms, and demonstrate that our automatic TOF picker can accurately pick TOFs in the presence of random noise with absolute amplitudes up to 80% of the maximum absolute signal amplitude. We apply the new method to 1160 in vivo breast ultrasound waveforms, and compare the picked TOFs with manual picks and amplitude threshold picks. The mean value and standard deviation between our TOF picker and manual picking are 0.4 μs and 0.29 μs, while for amplitude threshold picker the values are 1.02 μs and 0.9 μs, respectively. Tomograms for in vivo breast data with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (∼25 dB) and low SNR (∼18 dB) clearly demonstrate that our AIC picker is much less sensitive to the SNRs of the data, compared to the amplitude threshold picker.Discussion and conclusionsThe picking routine developed here is aimed at determining reliable quantitative values, necessary for adding diagnostic information to our clinical ultrasound tomography device - CURE. It has been successfully adopted into CURE, and allows us to generate such values reliably. We demonstrate that in vivo sound-speed tomograms with our TOF picks significantly improve the reconstruction accuracy and reduce image artifacts.     

On the algebraic formulation of collective models. I. The mass quadrupole collective model

This paper is the first in a series of three which together present a microscopic formulation of the Bohr-Mottelson (BM) collective model of the nucleus. In this article the mass quadrupole collective (MQC) model is defined and shown to be a generalization of the BM model. The MQC model eliminates the small oscillation assumption of BM and also yields the rotational and CM(3) submodels by holonomic constraints on the MQC configuration space. In addition, the MQC model is demonstrated to be an algebraic model, so that the state space of the MQC model carries an irrep of a Lie algebra of microscopic observables, the MQC algebra. An infinite class of new collective models is then given by the various inequivalent irreps of this algebra. A microscopic embedding of the BM model is achieved by decomposing the representation of the MQC algebra on many-particle state space into its irreducible components. In the second paper this decomposition is studied in detail. The third paper presents the symplectic model, which provides the realization of the collective model in the harmonic oscillator shell model.     

Trapped-ion quantum simulator: experimental application to nonlinear interferometers

We show how an experimentally realized set of operations on a single trapped ion is sufficient to simulate a wide class of Hamiltonians of a spin-1/2 particle in an external potential. This system is also able to simulate other physical dynamics. As a demonstration, we simulate the action of two nth order nonlinear optical beam splitters comprising an interferometer sensitive to phase shift in one of the interferometer beam paths. The sensitivity in determining these phase shifts increases linearly with n, and the simulation demonstrates that the use of nonlinear beam splitters (n=2,3) enhances this sensitivity compared to the standard quantum limit imposed by a linear beam splitter (n=1).     

Fusion around the barrier for 7Li+12C

Fusion cross-sections for the ⁷Li + ¹²C reaction have been measured at energies above the Coulomb barrier by the direct detection of evaporation residues. The heavy evaporation residues with energies below 3 MeV could not be separated out from the α-particles in the spectrum and hence their contribution was estimated using statistical model calculations. The present work indicates that suppression of fusion cross-sections due to the breakup of ⁷Li may not be significant for ⁷Li + ¹²C reaction at energies around the barrier.     

Experimental demonstration of a technique to generate arbitrary quantum superposition states of a harmonically bound spin-1/2 particle

Using a single, harmonically trapped 9Be(+) ion, we experimentally demonstrate a technique for generation of arbitrary states of a two-level particle confined by a harmonic potential. Rather than engineering a single Hamiltonian that evolves the system to a desired final state, we implement a technique that applies a sequence of simple operations to synthesize the state.     

Hydrogen adsorption and surface structures of silicon

The adsorption of atomic hydrogen on silicon (111)2 × 1 cleaved, (111) 7 × 7, and (100) 2 × 1 surfaces has been studied by using electron energy loss spectrscopy (ELS) and Photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). On all surfaces the hydrogen removes the “dangling bond” surface state and a new peak in the density of states at lower energies corresponding to the SiH bond is found. The LEED pattern of the equilibrium surfaces (111) 7 × 7 and (100) 2 × 1 is not altered by hydrogen adsorption, while on the cleaved (111) 2 × 1 surface the fractional order spots are extinguished. The Haneman surface-buckling model therefore provides an explanation for the surface reconstruction of the cleaved (111) 2 × 1 surfaces. For the equilibrium surfaces, (111) 7 × 7 and the (100) 2 × 1, the data are consistent with the Lander-Phillips model.     

Sterically bulky tris(triazolyl)borate ligands as water-soluble analogues of tris(pyrazolyl)borate

The recently synthesized 3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazole reacted with KBH4 to give the new potassium tris(3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolyl)borate K(Ttz(tBu,Me)) ligand. Ttz(tBu,Me) formed a four-coordinate (Ttz(tBu,Me))CoCl complex and five-coordinate (Ttz(tBu,Me))CoNO3 and (Ttz(tBu,Me))ZnOAc complexes. When these complexes were compared to their Tp(tBu,Me) analogues, it was found that Ttz(tBu,Me) resulted in negligible steric differences. K(Ttz(tBu,Me)) is more water-soluble than K(Tp(tBu,Me)), so bulky tris(triazolyl)borate ligands should lead to functional models for enzyme active sites in an aqueous environment and the creation of water-soluble analogues of Tp catalysts.