Monte Carlo-based Noise Compensation in Coil Intensity Corrected Endorectal MRI

Background: Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer found in males making early diagnosis important. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been useful in visualizing and localizing tumor candidates and with the use of endorectal coils (ERC), the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be improved. The coils introduce intensity inhomogeneities and the surface coil intensity correction built into MRI scanners is used to reduce these inhomogeneities. However, the correction typically performed at the MRI scanner level leads to noise amplification and noise level variations. Methods: In this study, we introduce a new Monte Carlo-based noise compensation approach for coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI which allows for effective noise compensation and preservation of details within the prostate. The approach accounts for the ERC SNR profile via a spatially-adaptive noise model for correcting non-stationary noise variations. Such a method is useful particularly for improving the image quality of coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI data performed at the MRI scanner level and when the original raw data is not available. Results: SNR and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) analysis in patient experiments demonstrate an average improvement of 11.7 dB and 11.2 dB respectively over uncorrected endorectal MRI, and provides strong performance when compared to existing approaches. Conclusions: A new noise compensation method was developed for the purpose of improving the quality of coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI data performed at the MRI scanner level. We illustrate that promising noise compensation performance can be achieved for the proposed approach, which is particularly important for processing coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI data performed at the MRI scanner level and when the original raw data is not available.Comment: 23 page

Consensus image method for unknown noise removal

Noise removal has been, and it is nowadays, an important task in computer vision. Usually, it is a previous task preceding other tasks, as segmentation or reconstruction. However, for most existing denoising algorithms the noise model has to be known in advance. In this paper, we introduce a new approach based on consensus to deal with unknown noise models. To do this, different filtered images are obtained, then combined using multifuzzy sets and averaging aggregation functions. The final decision is made by using a penalty function to deliver the compromised image. Results show that this approach is consistent and provides a good compromise between filters.This work is supported by the European Commission under Contract No. 238819 (MIBISOC Marie Curie ITN). H. Bustince was supported by Project TIN 2010-15055 of the Spanish Ministry of Science

Kajian motivasi ekstrinsik di antara Pelajar Lepasan Sijil dan Diploma Politeknik Jabatan Kejuruteraan Awam KUiTTHO

Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menyelidiki pengaruh dorongan keluarga, cara pengajaran pensyarah, pengaruh rakan sebaya dan kemudahan infrastruktur terhadap motivasi ekstrinsik bagi pelajar tahun tiga dan tahun empat lepasan sijil dan diploma politeknik Jabatan Kejuruteraan Awain Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn. Sampel kajian ini beijumlah 87 orang bagi pelajar lepasan sijil politeknik dan 38 orang bagi lepasan diploma politeknik. Data kajian telah diperolehi melalui borang soal selidik dan telah dianalisis menggunakan perisian SPSS (Statical Package For Sciences). Hasil kajian telah dipersembahkan dalam bentuk jadual dan histohgrapi. Analisis kajian mendapati bahawa kedua-dua kumpulan setuju bahawa faktor-faktor di atas memberi kesan kepada motivasi ekstrinsik mereka. Dengan kata lain faktpr-faktor tersebut penting dalam membentuk pelajar mencapai kecemerlangan akademik

Bayesian uncertainty quantification in linear models for diffusion MRI

Diffusion MRI (dMRI) is a valuable tool in the assessment of tissue microstructure. By fitting a model to the dMRI signal it is possible to derive various quantitative features. Several of the most popular dMRI signal models are expansions in an appropriately chosen basis, where the coefficients are determined using some variation of least-squares. However, such approaches lack any notion of uncertainty, which could be valuable in e.g. group analyses. In this work, we use a probabilistic interpretation of linear least-squares methods to recast popular dMRI models as Bayesian ones. This makes it possible to quantify the uncertainty of any derived quantity. In particular, for quantities that are affine functions of the coefficients, the posterior distribution can be expressed in closed-form. We simulated measurements from single- and double-tensor models where the correct values of several quantities are known, to validate that the theoretically derived quantiles agree with those observed empirically. We included results from residual bootstrap for comparison and found good agreement. The validation employed several different models: Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Mean Apparent Propagator MRI (MAP-MRI) and Constrained Spherical Deconvolution (CSD). We also used in vivo data to visualize maps of quantitative features and corresponding uncertainties, and to show how our approach can be used in a group analysis to downweight subjects with high uncertainty. In summary, we convert successful linear models for dMRI signal estimation to probabilistic models, capable of accurate uncertainty quantification.Comment: Added results from a group analysis and a comparison with residual bootstra

Spherical deconvolution of multichannel diffusion MRI data with non-Gaussian noise models and spatial regularization

Spherical deconvolution (SD) methods are widely used to estimate the intra-voxel white-matter fiber orientations from diffusion MRI data. However, while some of these methods assume a zero-mean Gaussian distribution for the underlying noise, its real distribution is known to be non-Gaussian and to depend on the methodology used to combine multichannel signals. Indeed, the two prevailing methods for multichannel signal combination lead to Rician and noncentral Chi noise distributions. Here we develop a Robust and Unbiased Model-BAsed Spherical Deconvolution (RUMBA-SD) technique, intended to deal with realistic MRI noise, based on a Richardson-Lucy (RL) algorithm adapted to Rician and noncentral Chi likelihood models. To quantify the benefits of using proper noise models, RUMBA-SD was compared with dRL-SD, a well-established method based on the RL algorithm for Gaussian noise. Another aim of the study was to quantify the impact of including a total variation (TV) spatial regularization term in the estimation framework. To do this, we developed TV spatially-regularized versions of both RUMBA-SD and dRL-SD algorithms. The evaluation was performed by comparing various quality metrics on 132 three-dimensional synthetic phantoms involving different inter-fiber angles and volume fractions, which were contaminated with noise mimicking patterns generated by data processing in multichannel scanners. The results demonstrate that the inclusion of proper likelihood models leads to an increased ability to resolve fiber crossings with smaller inter-fiber angles and to better detect non-dominant fibers. The inclusion of TV regularization dramatically improved the resolution power of both techniques. The above findings were also verified in brain data

Probing white-matter microstructure with higher-order diffusion tensors and susceptibility tensor MRI.

Diffusion MRI has become an invaluable tool for studying white matter microstructure and brain connectivity. The emergence of quantitative susceptibility mapping and susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) has provided another unique tool for assessing the structure of white matter. In the highly ordered white matter structure, diffusion MRI measures hindered water mobility induced by various tissue and cell membranes, while susceptibility sensitizes to the molecular composition and axonal arrangement. Integrating these two methods may produce new insights into the complex physiology of white matter. In this study, we investigated the relationship between diffusion and magnetic susceptibility in the white matter. Experiments were conducted on phantoms and human brains in vivo. Diffusion properties were quantified with the diffusion tensor model and also with the higher order tensor model based on the cumulant expansion. Frequency shift and susceptibility tensor were measured with quantitative susceptibility mapping and susceptibility tensor imaging. These diffusion and susceptibility quantities were compared and correlated in regions of single fiber bundles and regions of multiple fiber orientations. Relationships were established with similarities and differences identified. It is believed that diffusion MRI and susceptibility MRI provide complementary information of the microstructure of white matter. Together, they allow a more complete assessment of healthy and diseased brains

Spatially-variant noise filtering in magnetic resonance imaging : a consensus-based approach

In order to accelerate the acquisition process in multiple-coil Magnetic Resonance scanners, parallel techniques were developed. These techniques reduce the acquisition time via a sub-sampling of the k-space and a reconstruction process. From a signal and noise perspective, the use of a acceleration techniques modify the structure of the noise within the image. In the most common algorithms, like SENSE, the final magnitude image after the reconstruction is known to follow a Rician distribution for each pixel, just like single coil systems. However, the noise is spatially non-stationary, i.e. the variance of noise becomes x-dependent. This effect can also be found in magnitude images due to other processing inside the scanner. In this work we propose a method to adapt well-known noise filtering techniques initially designed to deal with stationary noise to the case of spatially variant Rician noise. The method copes with inaccurate estimates of variant noise patterns in the image, showing its robustness in realistic cases. The method employs a consensus strategy in conjunction with a set of aggregation functions and a penalty function. Multiple possible outputs are generated for each pixel assuming different unknown input parameters. The consensus approach merges them into a unique filtered image. As a filtering technique, we have selected the Linear Minimum Mean Square Error (LMMSE) estimator for Rician data, which has been used to test our methodology due to its simplicity and robustness. Results with synthetic and in vivo data confirm the good behavior of our approach