Technical advancements and protocol optimization of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in liver

An area of rapid advancement in abdominal MRI is diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). By measuring diffusion properties of water molecules, DWI is capable of non-invasively probing tissue properties and physiology at cellular and macromolecular level. The integration of DWI as part of abdominal MRI exam allows better lesion characterization and therefore more accurate initial diagnosis and treatment monitoring. One of the most technical challenging, but also most useful abdominal DWI applications is in liver and therefore requires special attention and careful optimization. In this article, the latest technical developments of DWI and its liver applications are reviewed with the explanations of the technical principles, recommendations of the imaging parameters, and examples of clinical applications. More advanced DWI techniques, including Intra-Voxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) diffusion imaging, anomalous diffusion imaging, and Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) are discussed

Investigations of Intelligent Solar Heating Systems for Single Family House

AbstractThree differently designed intelligent solar heating systems are investigated experimentally in a test facility. The systems provide all the needed yearly heating demand in single family houses. The systems are based on highly stratified tanks with variable auxiliary heated volumes. The tank is a tank in tank heat storage with domestic hot water in the inner tank and space heating water in the outer tank. The total tank volume is 750 liters and the solar collector area is 9 m2. The auxiliary energy supply system is based on electrical heating element(s)/heat pump and is different for all three systems.The system will be equipped with an intelligent control system where the control of the electrical heating element(s)/heat pump is based on forecasts of the variable electricity price, the heating demand and the solar energy production.By means of numerical models of the systems made in Trnsys, the control strategy of intelligent solar heating systems is investigated and the yearly auxiliary energy use of the systems and the electricity price for supplying the consumers with domestic hot water and space heating are calculated

Drain Back Systems in Laboratory and in Practice

AbstractDrain Back systems with ETC collectors are tested and analyzed in a Danish - Chinese cooperation project. Experiences from early work at DTU, with drain back, low flow systems, was used to design two systems:1) One laboratory system at DTU. 2) One demonstration system in a single family house in Sorö Denmark. Detailed monitoring and modelling/validation of the system in the DTU lab is done, to be able to generalize the results, to other climates and loads by simulation and to make design optimizations. The advantage with drain back, low flow systems, is that the system can be made more simple with less components and that the performance can be enhanced. Also problems with long term degradation of glycol collector loops are totally avoided. A combination of the drain back and system expansion vessel was tested successfully. It is very important to achieve a continuous slope for the pipes in the collector loop to have a safe reliable operation. The components should also be designed and marked so that only one correct mounting option is possible, like forward and return pipes to/from the collector of slightly different sizes or color. Adapted installer education and training is a very important step to have success with drain back systems. Practices used in glycol systems may give serious failures