A registration-based approach to quantify flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery in ultrasound image sequences

Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) offers a mechanism to characterize endothelial function and, therefore, may play a role in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Computerized analysis techniques are very desirable to give accuracy and objectivity to the measurements. Virtually all methods proposed up to now to measure FMD rely on accurate edge detection of the arterial wall, and they are not always robust in the presence of poor image quality or image artifacts. A novel method for automatic dilation assessment based on a global image analysis strategy is presented. We model interframe arterial dilation as a superposition of a rigid motion and a scaling factor perpendicular to the artery. Rigid motion can be interpreted as a global compensation for patient and probe movements, an aspect that has not been sufficiently studied before. The scaling factor explains arterial dilation. The ultrasound sequence is analyzed in two phases using image registration to recover both transformation models. Temporal continuity in the registration parameters along the sequence is enforced with a Kalman filter since the dilation process is known to be a gradual physiological phenomenon. Comparing automated and gold standard measurements (average of manual measurements) we found a negligible bias (0.05%FMD) and a small standard deviation (SD) of the differences (1.05%FMD). These values are comparable with those obtained from manual measurements (bias = 0.23%FMD, SD(intra-obs) = 1.13%FMD, SD(inter-obs) 1.20%FMD). The proposed method offers also better reproducibility (CV = 0.40%) than the manual measurements (CV = 1.04%).     

Influence of a presintering treatment on melt-textured Y−Ba−Cu−O growth

Summary The influence of a presintering treatment on Y-Ba-Cu-O prepared by a modified MPMG process was investigated. The sinterization, reducing the material porosity, was found to enhance the homogeneity of the Y₂BaCuO₅ (Y-211) particles distribution during the partial melting at 1100°C. As a consequence, the melttextured YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (Y-123) grows more uniformly producing oriented domain up to 3cm in size. Microstructural and diffractometrical analyses were performed on samples quenched at different stages during the thermal treatment. Paper presented at the ?VII Congresso SATT? Torino, 4–7 October 1994. Under a Fondazione Confalonieri grant.     

Backbone curves,Neimark-Sacker boundaries and appearance of quasi-periodicity in nonlinear oscillators: application to 1:2 internal resonance and frequency combs in MEMS

Meccanica - Quasi-periodic solutions can arise in assemblies of nonlinear oscillators as a consequence of Neimark-Sacker bifurcations. In this work, the appearance of Neimark-Sacker bifurcations is...     

Fast multiscale modeling of cardiac electrophysiology including Purkinje system

In this paper, we present a modeling methodology to couple the cardiac conduction system to cardiac myocytes through a model of Purkinje-ventricular junctions to yield fast and realistic electrical activation of the ventricles. A patient-specific biventricular geometry is obtained from processing computed tomography scan data. A one-manifold implementation of the fast marching method based on Eikonal-type equations is used for modeling heart electrophysiology, which facilitates the multiscale 1-D-3-D coupling at very low computational costs. The method is illustrated in in-silico experiments where we analyze and compare alternative pacing strategies on the same patient-specific anatomy. We also show very good agreement between the results from the proposed approach and more detailed and comprehensive biophysical models for modeling cardiac electrophysiology. The effect of atrioventricular delay on the distribution of activation time in myocardium is studied with two experiments. Given the reasonable computational times and realistic activation sequences provided by our method, it can have an important clinical impact on the selection of optimal implantation sites of pacing leads or placement of ablation catheter's tip in the context of cardiac rhythm management therapies.     

Solid damping in micro electro mechanical systems

This paper focuses on the problem of the numerical evaluation of dissipation induced by thermoelastic coupling in microelectromechanical systems. An ad hoc conceived, FE based, numerical procedure for the evaluation of the thermoelastic dissipation is proposed and the numerical results are compared with analytical solutions. In order to introduce in the numerical response a dependence on the size of the resonating devices, which is experimentally observed at very small dimensions, a new enhanced non-local coupled thermoelastic model is proposed and the first results are discussed. An erratum to this article can be found at     

The effect of nano-scale interaction forces on the premature pull-in of real-life Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems

A new experimental device has been designed and produced with the purpose of investigating the possible effect of nano-scale interaction forces on the reliability issue related to pull-in of uncharged plates. This paper reports the outcomes of the experimental tests carried out on the aforementioned micro-structure, which presents the essential features of real-life MEMS and is produced using the same technology as standard commercial devices. The experiments show, with a high degree of repeatability, a premature failure of the structure, as a consequence of pull-in instability. The results of the tests are critically evaluated by comparison with theoretical predictions, in order to assess the role played by nano-scale interaction forces caused by, e.g., parasitic charging, contact and patch potentials, Casimir force.     

High-T c superconducting magnetic bearings for rotation-based devices

Summary A Modified-Melt-Powder-Melt-Growth (MMPMG) technique has been developed for the preparation of melt-textured Y-Ba−Cu−O pellets. To test their performances, the samples were characterized with respect to their microstructure, pinning strength and interaction force with permanent magnets. A superconducting magnetic bearing was built and integrated in a levitating flywheel system for energy storage. Paper presented at the “VII Congresso SATT?, Torino, 4–7 October 1994. Under a Fondazione Confalonieri grant.     

Reconstructing the 3D shape and bone mineral density distribution of the proximal femur from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

The accurate diagnosis of osteoporosis has gained increasing importance due to the aging of our society. Areal bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is an established criterion in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. This measure, however, is limited by its two-dimensionality. This work presents a method to reconstruct both the 3D bone shape and 3D BMD distribution of the proximal femur from a single DXA image used in clinical routine. A statistical model of the combined shape and BMD distribution is presented, together with a method for its construction from a set of quantitative computed tomography (QCT) scans. A reconstruction is acquired in an intensity based 3D-2D registration process whereby an instance of the model is found that maximizes the similarity between its projection and the DXA image. Reconstruction experiments were performed on the DXA images of 30 subjects, with a model constructed from a database of QCT scans of 85 subjects. The accuracy was evaluated by comparing the reconstructions with the same subject QCT scans. The method presented here can potentially improve the diagnosis of osteoporosis and fracture risk assessment from the low radiation dose and low cost DXA devices currently used in clinical routine.