1,952 research outputs found
Towards in vivo g-ratio mapping using MRI: unifying myelin and diffusion imaging
The g-ratio, quantifying the comparative thickness of the myelin sheath
encasing an axon, is a geometrical invariant that has high functional relevance
because of its importance in determining neuronal conduction velocity. Advances
in MRI data acquisition and signal modelling have put in vivo mapping of the
g-ratio, across the entire white matter, within our reach. This capacity would
greatly increase our knowledge of the nervous system: how it functions, and how
it is impacted by disease. This is the second review on the topic of g-ratio
mapping using MRI. As such, it summarizes the most recent developments in the
field, while also providing methodological background pertinent to aggregate
g-ratio weighted mapping, and discussing pitfalls associated with these
approaches. Using simulations based on recently published data, this review
demonstrates the relevance of the calibration step for three myelin-markers
(macromolecular tissue volume, myelin water fraction, and bound pool fraction).
It highlights the need to estimate both the slope and offset of the
relationship between these MRI-based markers and the true myelin volume
fraction if we are really to achieve the goal of precise, high sensitivity
g-ratio mapping in vivo. Other challenges discussed in this review further
evidence the need for gold standard measurements of human brain tissue from ex
vivo histology. We conclude that the quest to find the most appropriate MRI
biomarkers to enable in vivo g-ratio mapping is ongoing, with the potential of
many novel techniques yet to be investigated.Comment: Will be published as a review article in Journal of Neuroscience
Methods as parf of the Special Issue with Hu Cheng and Vince Calhoun as Guest
Editor
Studying neuroanatomy using MRI
The study of neuroanatomy using imaging enables key insights into how our brains function, are shaped by genes and environment, and change with development, aging, and disease. Developments in MRI acquisition, image processing, and data modelling have been key to these advances. However, MRI provides an indirect measurement of the biological signals we aim to investigate. Thus, artifacts and key questions of correct interpretation can confound the readouts provided by anatomical MRI. In this review we provide an overview of the methods for measuring macro- and mesoscopic structure and inferring microstructural properties; we also describe key artefacts and confounds that can lead to incorrect conclusions. Ultimately, we believe that, though methods need to improve and caution is required in its interpretation, structural MRI continues to have great promise in furthering our understanding of how the brain works
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematical Modeling and Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Precision Medicine in Neurology and Neuroradiology
La tesi affronta la possibilitĂ di utilizzare metodi matematici, tecniche di simulazione, teorie
fisiche riadattate e algoritmi di intelligenza artificiale per soddisfare le esigenze cliniche in
neuroradiologia e neurologia al fine di descrivere e prevedere i patterns e lâevoluzione
temporale di una malattia, nonché di supportare il processo decisionale clinico.
La tesi Ăš suddivisa in tre parti.
La prima parte riguarda lo sviluppo di un workflow radiomico combinato con algoritmi di
Machine Learning al fine di prevedere parametri che favoriscono la descrizione quantitativa
dei cambiamenti anatomici e del coinvolgimento muscolare nei disordini neuromuscolari, con
particolare attenzione alla distrofia facioscapolo-omerale.
Il workflow proposto si basa su sequenze di risonanza magnetica convenzionali disponibili
nella maggior parte dei centri neuromuscolari e, dunque, puĂČ essere utilizzato come
strumento non invasivo per monitorare anche i piĂč piccoli cambiamenti nei disturbi
neuromuscolari oltre che per la valutazione della progressione della malattia nel tempo.
La seconda parte riguarda lâutilizzo di un modello cinetico per descrivere la crescita tumorale
basato sugli strumenti della meccanica statistica per sistemi multi-agente e che tiene in
considerazione gli effetti delle incertezze cliniche legate alla variabilitĂ della progressione
tumorale nei diversi pazienti. L'azione dei protocolli terapeutici Ăš modellata come controllo
che agisce a livello microscopico modificando la natura della distribuzione risultante. Viene
mostrato come lo scenario controllato permetta di smorzare le incertezze associate alla
variabilitĂ della dinamica tumorale. Inoltre, sono stati introdotti metodi di simulazione
numerica basati sulla formulazione stochastic Galerkin del modello cinetico sviluppato.
La terza parte si riferisce ad un progetto ancora in corso che tenta di descrivere una
porzione di cervello attraverso la teoria quantistica dei campi e di simularne il
comportamento attraverso l'implementazione di una rete neurale con una funzione di
attivazione costruita ad hoc e che simula la funzione di risposta del modello biologico
neuronale. Eâ stato ottenuto che, nelle condizioni studiate, l'attivitĂ della porzione di cervello
puĂČ essere descritta fino a O(6), i.e, considerando lâinterazione fino a sei campi, come un
processo gaussiano. Il framework quantistico definito puĂČ essere esteso anche al caso di un
processo non gaussiano, ovvero al caso di una teoria di campo quantistico interagente
utilizzando lâapproccio della teoria wilsoniana di campo efficace.The thesis addresses the possibility of using mathematical methods, simulation techniques,
repurposed physical theories and artificial intelligence algorithms to fulfill clinical needs in
neuroradiology and neurology. The aim is to describe and to predict disease patterns and its
evolution over time as well as to support clinical decision-making processes.
The thesis is divided into three parts.
Part 1 is related to the development of a Radiomic workflow combined with Machine
Learning algorithms in order to predict parameters that quantify muscular anatomical
involvement in neuromuscular diseases, with special focus on Facioscapulohumeral
dystrophy. The proposed workflow relies on conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
sequences available in most neuromuscular centers and it can be used as a non-invasive
tool to monitor even fine change in neuromuscular disorders and to evaluate longitudinal
diseasesâ progression over time.
Part 2 is about the description of a kinetic model for tumor growth by means of classical tools
of statistical mechanics for many-agent systems also taking into account the effects of
clinical uncertainties related to patientsâ variability in tumor progression.
The action of therapeutic protocols is modeled as feedback control at the microscopic level.
The controlled scenario allows the dumping of uncertainties associated with the variability in
tumorsâ dynamics. Suitable numerical methods, based on Stochastic Galerkin formulation of
the derived kinetic model, are introduced.
Part 3 refers to a still-on going project that attempts to describe a brain portion through a
quantum field theory and to simulate its behavior through the implementation of a neural
network with an ad-hoc activation function mimicking the biological neuron model response
function. Under considered conditions, the brain portion activity can be expressed up to
O(6), i.e., up to six fields interaction, as a Gaussian Process. The defined quantum field
framework may also be extended to the case of a Non-Gaussian Process behavior, or rather
to an interacting quantum field theory in a Wilsonian Effective Field theory approach
Recommendations and guidelines from the ISMRM Diffusion Study Group for preclinical diffusion MRI: Part 1 -- In vivo small-animal imaging
The value of in vivo preclinical diffusion MRI (dMRI) is substantial.
Small-animal dMRI has been used for methodological development and validation,
characterizing the biological basis of diffusion phenomena, and comparative
anatomy. Many of the influential works in this field were first performed in
small animals or ex vivo samples. The steps from animal setup and monitoring,
to acquisition, analysis, and interpretation are complex, with many decisions
that may ultimately affect what questions can be answered using the data. This
work aims to serve as a reference, presenting selected recommendations and
guidelines from the diffusion community, on best practices for preclinical dMRI
of in vivo animals. In each section, we also highlight areas for which no
guidelines exist (and why), and where future work should focus. We first
describe the value that small animal imaging adds to the field of dMRI,
followed by general considerations and foundational knowledge that must be
considered when designing experiments. We briefly describe differences in
animal species and disease models and discuss how they are appropriate for
different studies. We then give guidelines for in vivo acquisition protocols,
including decisions on hardware, animal preparation, imaging sequences and data
processing, including pre-processing, model-fitting, and tractography. Finally,
we provide an online resource which lists publicly available preclinical dMRI
datasets and software packages, to promote responsible and reproducible
research. An overarching goal herein is to enhance the rigor and
reproducibility of small animal dMRI acquisitions and analyses, and thereby
advance biomedical knowledge.Comment: 69 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
Bioelectronic technologies and artificial intelligence for medical diagnosis and healthcare
The application of electronic findings to biology and medicine has significantly impacted health and wellbeing. Recent technology advances have allowed the development of new systems that can provide diagnostic information on portable point-of-devices or smartphones. The decreasing size of electronics technologies down to the atomic scale and the advances in system, cell, and molecular biology have the potential to increase the quality and reduce the costs of healthcare.
Clinicians have pervasive access to new data from complex sensors; imaging tools; and a multitude of other sources, including personal health e-records and smart environments. Humans are from being able to process this unprecedented volume of available data without advanced tools. Artificial intelligence (AI) can help clinicians to identify patterns from this huge amount of data to inform better choices for patients.
In this Special Issue, some original research papers focusing on recent advances have been collected, covering novel theories, innovative methods, and meaningful applications that could potentially lead to significant advances in the field
Optimizing Echo State Networks for Static Pattern Recognition
Static pattern recognition requires a machine to classify an object on the basis of a combination of attributes and is typically performed using machine learning techniques such as support vector machines and multilayer perceptrons. Unusually, in this study, we applied a successful time-series processing neural network architecture, the echo state network (ESN), to a static pattern recognition task. The networks were presented with clamped input data patterns, but in this work, they were allowed to run until their output units delivered a stable set of output activations, in a similar fashion to previous work that focused on the behaviour of ESN reservoir units. Our aim was to see if the short-term memory developed by the reservoir and the clamped inputs could deliver improved overall classification accuracy. The study utilized a challenging, high dimensional, real-world plant species spectroradiometry classification dataset with the objective of accurately detecting one of the worldâs top 100 invasive plant species. Surprisingly, the ESNs performed equally well with both unsettled and settled reservoirs. Delivering a classification accuracy of 96.60%, the clamped ESNs outperformed three widely used machine learning techniques, namely support vector machines, extreme learning machines and multilayer perceptrons. Contrary to past work, where inputs were clamped until reservoir stabilization, it was found that it was possible to obtain similar classification accuracy (96.49%) by clamping the input patterns for just two repeats. The chief contribution of this work is that a recurrent architecture can get good classification accuracy, even while the reservoir is still in an unstable state
AI in Medical Imaging Informatics: Current Challenges and Future Directions
This paper reviews state-of-the-art research solutions across the spectrum of medical imaging informatics, discusses clinical translation, and provides future directions for advancing clinical practice. More specifically, it summarizes advances in medical imaging acquisition technologies for different modalities, highlighting the necessity for efficient medical data management strategies in the context of AI in big healthcare data analytics. It then provides a synopsis of contemporary and emerging algorithmic methods for disease classification and organ/ tissue segmentation, focusing on AI and deep learning architectures that have already become the de facto approach. The clinical benefits of in-silico modelling advances linked with evolving 3D reconstruction and visualization applications are further documented. Concluding, integrative analytics approaches driven by associate research branches highlighted in this study promise to revolutionize imaging informatics as known today across the healthcare continuum for both radiology and digital pathology applications. The latter, is projected to enable informed, more accurate diagnosis, timely prognosis, and effective treatment planning, underpinning precision medicine
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