A Comparative Study for 2D and 3D Computer-aided Diagnosis Methods for Solitary Pulmonary Nodules

Many computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) methods, including 2D and 3D approaches, have been proposed for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). However, the detection and diagnosis of SPNs remain challenging in many clinical circumstances. One goal of this work is to investigate the relative diagnostic accuracy of 2D and 3D methods. An additional goal is to develop a two-stage approach that combines the simplicity of 2D and the accuracy of 3D methods. The experimental results show statistically significant differences between the diagnostic accuracy of 2D and 3D methods. The results also show that with a very minor drop in diagnostic performance the two-stage approach can significantly reduce the number of nodules needed to be processed by the 3D method, streamlining the computational demand

Brain encoding of saltatory velocity-scaled somatosensory array in glabrous hand among neurotypical adults

Neurons in human somatosensory cortex are somatotopically organized, with sensation from the lower limbs mediated by neurons near the midline of the brain, whereas sensations from the upper body, hands and orofacial surfaces are mediated by neurons located more laterally in a sequential map. Neurons in Brodmann\u27s area (BA) 3b are exquisitely sensitive to tactile stimulation of these skin surfaces. Moreover, the location, velocity and direction of tactile stimuli on the skin\u27s surface are discriminable features of somatosensory processing, however their role in fine motor control and passive detection are poorly understood in health, and as a neurotherapeutic agent in sensorimotor rehabilitation. To better understand the representation and processing of dynamic saltatory tactile arrays in the human somatosensory cortex, high resolution functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) is utilized to delineate neural networks involved in processing these complex somatosensory events to the glabrous surface of the hand. The principal goal of this dissertation is to map the relation between a dynamic saltatory pneumatic stimulus array delivered at 3 different velocities on the glabrous hand and the evoked blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) brain response, hypothesized to involve a network consisting of primary and secondary somatosensory cortices (S1 and S2), insular cortex, posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and cerebellar nuclei. A random-balanced block design with fMRI will be used to record the BOLD response in healthy right-handed adults. Development of precise stimulus velocities, rapid rise-fall transitions, salient amplitude, is expected to optimize the BOLD response. Advisor: Steven M. Barlo