Automation of Hessian-Based Tubularity Measure Response Function in 3D Biomedical Images

The blood vessels and nerve trees consist of tubular objects interconnected into a complex tree- or web-like structure that has a range of structural scale 5 μm diameter capillaries to 3 cm aorta. This large-scale range presents two major problems; one is just making the measurements, and the other is the exponential increase of component numbers with decreasing scale. With the remarkable increase in the volume imaged by, and resolution of, modern day 3D imagers, it is almost impossible to make manual tracking of the complex multiscale parameters from those large image data sets. In addition, the manual tracking is quite subjective and unreliable. We propose a solution for automation of an adaptive nonsupervised system for tracking tubular objects based on multiscale framework and use of Hessian-based object shape detector incorporating National Library of Medicine Insight Segmentation and Registration Toolkit (ITK) image processing libraries

3D Rigid Registration of Intraoperative Ultrasound and Preoperative MR Brain Images Based on Hyperechogenic Structures

The registration of intraoperative ultrasound (US) images with preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) images is a challenging problem due to the difference of information contained in each image modality. To overcome this difficulty, we introduce a new probabilistic function based on the matching of cerebral hyperechogenic structures. In brain imaging, these structures are the liquid interfaces such as the cerebral falx and the sulci, and the lesions when the corresponding tissue is hyperechogenic. The registration procedure is achieved by maximizing the joint probability for a voxel to be included in hyperechogenic structures in both modalities. Experiments were carried out on real datasets acquired during neurosurgical procedures. The proposed validation framework is based on (i) visual assessment, (ii) manual expert estimations , and (iii) a robustness study. Results show that the proposed method (i) is visually efficient, (ii) produces no statistically different registration accuracy compared to manual-based expert registration, and (iii) converges robustly. Finally, the computation time required by our method is compatible with intraoperative use

Lawrence Today, Volume 69, Number 3, Fall 1989

https://lux.lawrence.edu/alumni_magazines/1081/thumbnail.jp

Comparison of brush and biopsy sampling methods of the ileal pouch for assessment of mucosa-associated microbiota of human subjects

BACKGROUND: Mucosal biopsy is the most common sampling technique used to assess microbial communities associated with the intestinal mucosa. Biopsies disrupt the epithelium and can be associated with complications such as bleeding. Biopsies sample a limited area of the mucosa, which can lead to potential sampling bias. In contrast to the mucosal biopsy, the mucosal brush technique is less invasive and provides greater mucosal coverage, and if it can provide equivalent microbial community data, it would be preferable to mucosal biopsies. RESULTS: We compared microbial samples collected from the intestinal mucosa using either a cytology brush or mucosal biopsy forceps. We collected paired samples from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) who had previously undergone colectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA), and profiled the microbial communities of the samples by sequencing V4-V6 or V4-V5 16S rRNA-encoding gene amplicons. Comparisons of 177 taxa in 16 brush-biopsy sample pairs had a mean R(2) of 0.94. We found no taxa that varied significantly between the brush and biopsy samples after adjusting for multiple comparisons (false discovery rate ≤0.05). We also tested the reproducibility of DNA amplification and sequencing in 25 replicate pairs and found negligible variation (mean R(2) = 0.99). A qPCR analysis of the two methods showed that the relative yields of bacterial DNA to human DNA were several-fold higher in the brush samples than in the biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: Mucosal brushing is preferred to mucosal biopsy for sampling the epithelial-associated microbiota. Although both techniques provide similar assessments of the microbial community composition, the brush sampling method has relatively more bacterial to host DNA, covers a larger surface area, and is less traumatic to the epithelium than the mucosal biopsy

Thalamic deep brain stimulation modulates cycles of seizure risk in epilepsy

Chronic brain recordings suggest that seizure risk is not uniform, but rather varies systematically relative to daily (circadian) and multiday (multidien) cycles. Here, one human and seven dogs with naturally occurring epilepsy had continuous intracranial EEG (median 298 days) using novel implantable sensing and stimulation devices. Two pet dogs and the human subject received concurrent thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) over multiple months. All subjects had circadian and multiday cycles in the rate of interictal epileptiform spikes (IES). There was seizure phase locking to circadian and multiday IES cycles in five and seven out of eight subjects, respectively. Thalamic DBS modified circadian (all 3 subjects) and multiday (analysis limited to the human participant) IES cycles. DBS modified seizure clustering and circadian phase locking in the human subject. Multiscale cycles in brain excitability and seizure risk are features of human and canine epilepsy and are modifiable by thalamic DBS

ATE Impacts 2018-2019

The ATE Impacts book, published every two years by Internet Scout Research, showcases all of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Centers and selected nominated projects. The NSF ATE program focuses on the education of highly-qualified science and engineering technicians for advanced technology fields. Through the program's grant process, the NSF promotes the improvement of STEM education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels, and in the workforce. The 2018-2019 ATE Impacts book marks the 25th anniversary of the NSF ATE program and offers an in-depth overview of the work done by the ATE community. This book includes a timeline of important achievements and events, a foreword by the program director, additional ATE program history, and information about ATE program Centers and a number of projects.Â

An analysis-ready and quality controlled resource for pediatric brain white-matter research

We created a set of resources to enable research based on openly-available diffusion MRI (dMRI) data from the Healthy Brain Network (HBN) study. First, we curated the HBN dMRI data (N = 2747) into the Brain Imaging Data Structure and preprocessed it according to best-practices, including denoising and correcting for motion effects, susceptibility-related distortions, and eddy currents. Preprocessed, analysis-ready data was made openly available. Data quality plays a key role in the analysis of dMRI. To optimize QC and scale it to this large dataset, we trained a neural network through the combination of a small data subset scored by experts and a larger set scored by community scientists. The network performs QC highly concordant with that of experts on a held out set (ROC-AUC = 0.947). A further analysis of the neural network demonstrates that it relies on image features with relevance to QC. Altogether, this work both delivers resources to advance transdiagnostic research in brain connectivity and pediatric mental health, and establishes a novel paradigm for automated QC of large datasets

Survey on virtual coaching for older adults

Virtual coaching has emerged as a promising solution to extend independent living for older adults. A virtual coach system is an always-attentive personalized system that continuously monitors user's activity and surroundings and delivers interventions - that is, intentional messages - in the appropriate moment. This article presents a survey of different approaches in virtual coaching for older adults, from the less technically supported tools to the latest developments and future avenues for research. It focuses on the technical aspects, especially on software architectures, user interaction and coaching personalization. Nevertheless, some aspects from the fields of personality/social psychology are also presented in the context of coaching strategies. Coaching is considered holistically, including matters such as physical and cognitive training, nutrition, social interaction and mood.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 769830

The Application of Computer Techniques to ECG Interpretation

This book presents some of the latest available information on automated ECG analysis written by many of the leading researchers in the field. It contains a historical introduction, an outline of the latest international standards for signal processing and communications and then an exciting variety of studies on electrophysiological modelling, ECG Imaging, artificial intelligence applied to resting and ambulatory ECGs, body surface mapping, big data in ECG based prediction, enhanced reliability of patient monitoring, and atrial abnormalities on the ECG. It provides an extremely valuable contribution to the field