15,377 research outputs found
Toward optimal X-ray flux utilization in breast CT
A realistic computer-simulation of a breast computed tomography (CT) system
and subject is constructed. The model is used to investigate the optimal number
of views for the scan given a fixed total X-ray fluence. The reconstruction
algorithm is based on accurate solution to a constrained, TV-minimization
problem, which has received much interest recently for sparse-view CT data.Comment: accepted to the 11th International Meeting on Fully Three-Dimensional
Image Reconstruction in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine 201
Dose, exposure time, and resolution in Serial X-ray Crystallography
The resolution of X-ray diffraction microscopy is limited by the maximum dose
that can be delivered prior to sample damage. In the proposed Serial
Crystallography method, the damage problem is addressed by distributing the
total dose over many identical hydrated macromolecules running continuously in
a single-file train across a continuous X-ray beam, and resolution is then
limited only by the available molecular and X-ray fluxes and molecular
alignment. Orientation of the diffracting molecules is achieved by laser
alignment. We evaluate the incident X-ray fluence (energy/area) required to
obtain a given resolution from (1) an analytical model, giving the count rate
at the maximum scattering angle for a model protein, (2) explicit simulation of
diffraction patterns for a GroEL-GroES protein complex, and (3) the frequency
cut off of the transfer function following iterative solution of the phase
problem, and reconstruction of an electron density map in the projection
approximation. These calculations include counting shot noise and multiple
starts of the phasing algorithm. The results indicate counting time and the
number of proteins needed within the beam at any instant for a given resolution
and X-ray flux. We confirm an inverse fourth power dependence of exposure time
on resolution, with important implications for all coherent X-ray imaging. We
find that multiple single-file protein beams will be needed for sub-nanometer
resolution on current third generation synchrotrons, but not on fourth
generation designs, where reconstruction of secondary protein structure at a
resolution of 0.7 nm should be possible with short exposures.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Vision-Based Localization Algorithm Based on Landmark Matching, Triangulation, Reconstruction, and Comparison
Many generic position-estimation algorithms are vulnerable to ambiguity introduced by nonunique landmarks. Also, the available high-dimensional image data is not fully used when these techniques are extended to vision-based localization. This paper presents the landmark matching, triangulation, reconstruction, and comparison (LTRC) global localization algorithm, which is reasonably immune to ambiguous landmark matches. It extracts natural landmarks for the (rough) matching stage before generating the list of possible position estimates through triangulation. Reconstruction and comparison then rank the possible estimates. The LTRC algorithm has been implemented using an interpreted language, onto a robot equipped with a panoramic vision system. Empirical data shows remarkable improvement in accuracy when compared with the established random sample consensus method. LTRC is also robust against inaccurate map data
Time-Dependent Tomographic Reconstruction of the Solar Corona
Solar rotational tomography (SRT) applied to white-light coronal images
observed at multiple aspect angles has been the preferred approach for
determining the three-dimensional (3D) electron density structure of the solar
corona. However, it is seriously hampered by the restrictive assumption that
the corona is time-invariant which introduces significant errors in the
reconstruction. We first explore several methods to mitigate the temporal
variation of the corona by decoupling the "fast-varying" inner corona from the
"slow-moving" outer corona using multiple masking (either by juxtaposition or
recursive combination) and radial weighting. Weighting with a radial
exponential profile provides some improvement over a classical reconstruction
but only beyond 3 Rsun. We next consider a full time-dependent tomographic
reconstruction involving spatio-temporal regularization and further introduce a
co-rotating regularization aimed at preventing concentration of reconstructed
density in the plane of the sky. Crucial to testing our procedure and properly
tuning the regularization parameters is the introduction of a time-dependent
MHD model of the corona based on observed magnetograms to build a time-series
of synthetic images of the corona. Our procedure, which successfully reproduces
the time-varying model corona, is finally applied to a set of of 53 LASCO-C2 pB
images roughly evenly spaced in time from 15 to 29 March 2009. Our procedure
paves the way to a time-dependent tomographic reconstruction of the coronal
electron density to the whole set of LASCO-C2 images presently spanning 20
years.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure
MScMS-II: an innovative IR-based indoor coordinate measuring system for large-scale metrology applications
According to the current great interest concerning large-scale metrology applications in many different fields of manufacturing industry, technologies and techniques for dimensional measurement have recently shown a substantial improvement. Ease-of-use, logistic and economic issues, as well as metrological performance are assuming a more and more important role among system requirements. This paper describes the architecture and the working principles of a novel infrared (IR) optical-based system, designed to perform low-cost and easy indoor coordinate measurements of large-size objects. The system consists of a distributed network-based layout, whose modularity allows fitting differently sized and shaped working volumes by adequately increasing the number of sensing units. Differently from existing spatially distributed metrological instruments, the remote sensor devices are intended to provide embedded data elaboration capabilities, in order to share the overall computational load. The overall system functionalities, including distributed layout configuration, network self-calibration, 3D point localization, and measurement data elaboration, are discussed. A preliminary metrological characterization of system performance, based on experimental testing, is also presente
Measuring the shape. Performance evaluation of a photogrammetry improvement applied to the Neanderthal skull Saccopastore 1
Several digital technologies are nowadays developed and applied to the study of the human fossil record. Here, we present a low-cost hardware implementation of the digital acquisition via photogrammetry, applied to a specimen of paleoanthropological interest: the Neanderthal skull Saccopastore 1. Such implementation has the purpose to semi-automatize the procedures of digital acquisition, by
the introduction of an automatically rotating platform users can easily build on their own with minimum costs. We provide all the technical specifications, mostly based on the Arduino UNO™ microcontroller technology, and evaluate the performance and the resolution of the acquisition by comparing it with the CT-scan of the same specimen through the calculation of their shape differences. In our opinion, the replication of the automatic rotating platform, described in this work, may contribute to the improvement of the digital acquisition processes and may represent, in addition, a useful and affordable tool for both research and dissemination
Sub-pixel resolving optofluidic microscope for on-chip cell imaging
We report the implementation of a fully on-chip, lensless, sub-pixel resolving optofluidic microscope (SROFM). The device utilizes microfluidic flow to deliver specimens directly across a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor to generate a sequence of low-resolution (LR) projection images, where resolution is limited by the sensor's pixel size. This image sequence is then processed with a pixel super-resolution algorithm to reconstruct a single high resolution (HR) image, where features beyond the Nyquist rate of the LR images are resolved. We demonstrate the device's capabilities by imaging microspheres, protist Euglena gracilis, and Entamoeba invadens cysts with sub-cellular resolution and establish that our prototype has a resolution limit of 0.75 microns. Furthermore, we also apply the same pixel super-resolution algorithm to reconstruct HR videos in which the dynamic interaction between the fluid and the sample, including the in-plane and out-of-plane rotation of the sample within the flow, can be monitored in high resolution. We believe that the powerful combination of both the pixel super-resolution and optofluidic microscopy techniques within our SROFM is a significant step forwards toward a simple, cost-effective, high throughput and highly compact imaging solution for biomedical and bioscience needs
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