Terahertz Security Image Quality Assessment by No-reference Model Observers

To provide the possibility of developing objective image quality assessment (IQA) algorithms for THz security images, we constructed the THz security image database (THSID) including a total of 181 THz security images with the resolution of 127*380. The main distortion types in THz security images were first analyzed for the design of subjective evaluation criteria to acquire the mean opinion scores. Subsequently, the existing no-reference IQA algorithms, which were 5 opinion-aware approaches viz., NFERM, GMLF, DIIVINE, BRISQUE and BLIINDS2, and 8 opinion-unaware approaches viz., QAC, SISBLIM, NIQE, FISBLIM, CPBD, S3 and Fish_bb, were executed for the evaluation of the THz security image quality. The statistical results demonstrated the superiority of Fish_bb over the other testing IQA approaches for assessing the THz image quality with PLCC (SROCC) values of 0.8925 (-0.8706), and with RMSE value of 0.3993. The linear regression analysis and Bland-Altman plot further verified that the Fish__bb could substitute for the subjective IQA. Nonetheless, for the classification of THz security images, we tended to use S3 as a criterion for ranking THz security image grades because of the relatively low false positive rate in classifying bad THz image quality into acceptable category (24.69%). Interestingly, due to the specific property of THz image, the average pixel intensity gave the best performance than the above complicated IQA algorithms, with the PLCC, SROCC and RMSE of 0.9001, -0.8800 and 0.3857, respectively. This study will help the users such as researchers or security staffs to obtain the THz security images of good quality. Currently, our research group is attempting to make this research more comprehensive.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Contrast Enhancement of Brightness-Distorted Images by Improved Adaptive Gamma Correction

As an efficient image contrast enhancement (CE) tool, adaptive gamma correction (AGC) was previously proposed by relating gamma parameter with cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the pixel gray levels within an image. ACG deals well with most dimmed images, but fails for globally bright images and the dimmed images with local bright regions. Such two categories of brightness-distorted images are universal in real scenarios, such as improper exposure and white object regions. In order to attenuate such deficiencies, here we propose an improved AGC algorithm. The novel strategy of negative images is used to realize CE of the bright images, and the gamma correction modulated by truncated CDF is employed to enhance the dimmed ones. As such, local over-enhancement and structure distortion can be alleviated. Both qualitative and quantitative experimental results show that our proposed method yields consistently good CE results

CT Coronary Angiography with 100kV tube voltage and a low noise reconstruction filter in non-obese patients: evaluation of radiation dose and diagnostic quality of 2D and 3D image reconstructions using open source software (OsiriX)

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE. Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) has seen a dramatic evolution in the last decade owing to the availability of multislice CT scanners with 64 detector rows and beyond. However, this evolution has been paralleled by an increase in radiation dose to patients, that can reach extremely high levels (>20mSv) when retrospective ECG-gating techniques are used. On CT angiography, reduction of tube voltage allows to cut radiation dose with improved contrast resolution due to the lower energy of the X-ray beam and increased photoelectric effect. Our purpose is twofold: 1) to evaluate the radiation dose of CTCA studies carried out using a tube voltage of 100kV and a low noise reconstruction filter, compared with a conventional tube voltage of 120kV and a standard reconstruction kernel; 2) to assess the impact of the 100kV acquisition technique on the diagnostic quality of 2D and 3D image reconstructions performed with open source software (OsiriX). MATERIALS AND METHODS. Fifty-one non-obese patients underwent CTCA on a 64-row CT scanner. Out of them, 28 were imaged using a tube voltage of 100kV and a low noise reconstruction filter, while in the remaining 23 patients a tube voltage of 120kV and a standard reconstruction kernel were selected. All CTCA datasets were exported via PACS to a Macintosh™ computer (iMac™) running OsiriX 4.0 (64-bit version), and Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP), Curved Planar Reformation (CPR), and Volume Rendering (VR) views of each coronary artery were generated using a dedicated plug-in (CMIV CTA; Linköping University, Sweden). Diagnostic quality of MIP, CPR, and VR reconstructions was assessed visually by two radiologists with experience in cardiac CT using a three-point score (1=poor, 2=good, 3=excellent). Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), intravascular CT density, and effective dose for each group were also calculated. RESULTS. Image quality of VR views was significantly better with the 100kV than with the 120kV protocol (2.77±0.43 vs 2.21±0.85, p=0.0332), while that of MIP and CPR reconstructions was comparable (2.59±0.50 vs 2.32±0.75, p=0.3271, and 2.68±0.48 vs 2.32±0.67, p=0.1118, respectively). SNR and CNR were comparable between the two protocols (16.42±4.64 vs 14.78±2.57, p=0.2502, and 13.43±3.77 vs 12.08±2.10, p=0.2486, respectively), but in the 100kV group aortic root density was higher (655.9±127.2 HU vs 517.2±69.7 HU, p=0.0016) and correlated with VR image quality (rs=0.5409, p=0.0025). Effective dose was significantly lower with the 100kV than with the 120kV protocol (7.43±2.69 mSv vs 18.83±3.60 mSv, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS. Compared with a standard tube voltage of 120kV, usage of 100kV and a low noise filter leads to a significant reduction of radiation dose with equivalent and higher diagnostic quality of 2D and 3D reconstructions, respectively in non-obese patients

Simultaneous multislice acquisition with multi-contrast segmented EPI for separation of signal contributions in dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging

We present a method to efficiently separate signal in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) into a base signal S0, representing the mainly T1-weighted component without T2*-relaxation, and its T2*-weighted counterpart by the rapid acquisition of multiple contrasts for advanced pharmacokinetic modelling. This is achieved by incorporating simultaneous multislice (SMS) imaging into a multi-contrast, segmented echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence to allow extended spatial coverage, which covers larger body regions without time penalty. Simultaneous acquisition of four slices was combined with segmented EPI for fast imaging with three gradient echo times in a preclinical perfusion study. Six female domestic pigs, German-landrace or hybrid-form, were scanned for 11 minutes respectively during administration of gadolinium-based contrast agent. Influences of reconstruction methods and training data were investigated. The separation into T1- and T2*-dependent signal contributions was achieved by fitting a standard analytical model to the acquired multi-echo data. The application of SMS yielded sufficient temporal resolution for the detection of the arterial input function in major vessels, while anatomical coverage allowed perfusion analysis of muscle tissue. The separation of the MR signal into T1- and T2*-dependent components allowed the correction of susceptibility related changes. We demonstrate a novel sequence for dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI that meets the requirements of temporal resolution (Δt &lt; 1.5 s) and image quality. The incorporation of SMS into multi-contrast, segmented EPI can overcome existing limitations of dynamic contrast enhancement and dynamic susceptibility contrast methods, when applied separately. The new approach allows both techniques to be combined in a single acquisition with a large spatial coverage