Imaging spectroscopic performances for a Si based detection system

We present the imaging and spectroscopic capabilities of a system based on a single photon counting chip (PCC) bump-bonded on a Si pixel detector. The system measures the energy spectrum and the flux, produced by a standard mammographic tube. We have also made some images of low contrast details, achieving good results

Comparison of imaging properties of several digital radiographic systems

Digital radiography is a field of great interest; a wide range of different imaging systems is now becoming available and it is very important to have powerful instruments to characterize and compare their imaging properties. We have evaluated imaging properties for several digital radiographic systems in terms of resolution and noise properties. For the resolution properties, we have used the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and the presampling MTF, for undersampled systems. We have characterized noise properties by Detective Quantum Efficiency, that is an absolute parameter that allows comparison between different systems

Evaluation of the imaging properties of a direct detection single photon counting based system

We have tested the imaging properties of a system based on a GaAs matrix that performs the direct detection of photons in the range of radiographic interest. The detector is bump-bonded to a VLSI single photon counting electronics. The imaging properties of the system have been evaluated in terms of the presampling MTF and the DQE(ν), that allow an absolute characterization of imaging properties of digital systems. We have tested other radiographic imaging systems in standard clinical conditions, using the same functions and we have compared them with the GaAs matrix system

Spectroscopic and imaging capabilities of a pixellated photon counting system

We are studying the performance of various thickness GaAs pixel detectors bump-bonded to a dedicated photon counting chip (PCC) for medical imaging applications in different energy ranges. In this work we present the experimental results obtained with a 600 μm thick pixel matrix (64×64 square pixels, 170 μm side) in the 60–140 keV energy range to evaluate the possible use of such a system in the nuclear medicine field. In particular, we have measured the spectroscopic properties of the detector (charge collection efficiency, energy resolution and detection efficiency) and evaluated the discrimination capability of the electronics. Then we have measured the imaging properties of the whole system in terms of Point Spread Function and using a home made thyroid phantom. We present also a comparison with a traditional gamma camera and an evaluation, made by both experimental measurements and software simulations, of the imaging characteristics related to the use of a collimation system

The CALMA project

The CALMA (Computer_Assisted Library for MAmmography) project was born as a collaboration between radiologists and physicists. Its goal is to collect a set of digital mammographic images and to work out a suitable Computed Assisted Diagnosis tool to be used in screening mammography. The project is an Italian collaboration among the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare sections of Bologna, Pisa, Torino, Udine and Trento and the Hospitals of Bari, Bologna, Livorno, Udine and Trento. Some preliminary results obtained in the classification of breast disease are described here

Screening for Fabry disease in patients with ischaemic stroke at young age: the Italian Project on Stroke in Young Adults

reserved85nomixedPoli, L.; Zedde, Marialuisa; Zini, Andrea; Del Sette, Massimo; Lodigiani, Corrado; Spalloni, Alessandra; Di Lisi, Filomena; Toriello, Antonella; Piras, Valeria; Stilo, Cesare; Tomelleri, Giampaolo; Tancredi, Lucia; Paciaroni, Maurizio; Silvestrelli, Giorgio; Adami, Alessandro; Costa, P.; Morotti, A.; De Giuli, V.; Caria, F.; Gamba, Massimo; Malferrari, Giovanni; Simone, Anna Maria; Musolino, Rossella; Giorli, Elisa; Banfi, Elena; Marcheselli, Simona; Rasura, Maurizia; Pugliese, Nicola; Melis, Maurizio; Bovi, Paolo; Padovani, A.; Burlina, A.; Pezzini, A; Del Zotto, Elisabetta; Giossi, Alessia; Sessa, Maria; Gilberti, Nicola; Magoni, Mauro; Ferrazzi, Paola; Librè, Luca; Rota, Lidia Luciana; Patella, Rosalba; Calabrò, Rocco Salvatore; Bramanti, Placido; La Spina, Paolo; Finocchi, Cinzia; Balestrino, Maurizio; Bruno, Chiara; Massucco, Davide; Gandolfo, Carlo; Traverso, Elisabetta; Delodovici, Maria Luisa; Verrengia, Elena Pinuccia; Carimati, Federico; Bono, Giorgio; Dell'Acqua, Maria Luisa; Bigliardi, Guido; Vandelli, Laura; Nichelli, Paolo Frigio; Carletti, Monica; Cerrato, Paolo; Iacoviello, Licia; Di Castelnuovo, Augusto; de Gaetano, Giovanni; Grassi, Mario; Locatelli, Giampiero; Caso, Valeria; D'Amore, Cataldo; Agnelli, Giancarlo; Checcarelli, Nicoletta; Guidotti, Mario; Arnaboldi, Marco; Giacalone, Giacomo; Zanoli, Elisa; Cavallini, Anna; Persico, Alessandra; Micieli, Giuseppe; Chiti, Alberto; Orlandi, Giovanni; Marchi, Piernicola; Lanari, Alessia; Ciccone, Alfonso; Cucurachi, Laura; Bonifati, Marco Domenico; Marcello, NorinaPoli, L.; Zedde, Marialuisa; Zini, Andrea; Del Sette, Massimo; Lodigiani, Corrado; Spalloni, Alessandra; Di Lisi, Filomena; Toriello, Antonella; Piras, Valeria; Stilo, Cesare; Tomelleri, Giampaolo; Tancredi, Lucia; Paciaroni, Maurizio; Silvestrelli, Giorgio; Adami, Alessandro; Costa, P.; Morotti, A.; De Giuli, V.; Caria, F.; Gamba, Massimo; Malferrari, Giovanni; Simone, Anna Maria; Musolino, Rossella; Giorli, Elisa; Banfi, Elena; Marcheselli, Simona; Rasura, Maurizia; Pugliese, Nicola; Melis, Maurizio; Bovi, Paolo; Padovani, A.; Burlina, A.; Pezzini, A; Del Zotto, Elisabetta; Giossi, Alessia; Sessa, Maria; Gilberti, Nicola; Magoni, Mauro; Ferrazzi, Paola; Librè, Luca; Rota, Lidia Luciana; Patella, Rosalba; Calabrò, Rocco Salvatore; Bramanti, Placido; La Spina, Paolo; Finocchi, Cinzia; Balestrino, Maurizio; Bruno, Chiara; Massucco, Davide; Gandolfo, Carlo; Traverso, Elisabetta; Delodovici, Maria Luisa; Verrengia, Elena Pinuccia; Carimati, Federico; Bono, Giorgio; Dell'Acqua, Maria Luisa; Bigliardi, Guido; Vandelli, Laura; Nichelli, Paolo Frigio; Carletti, Monica; Cerrato, Paolo; Iacoviello, Licia; Di Castelnuovo, Augusto; de Gaetano, Giovanni; Grassi, Mario; Locatelli, Giampiero; Caso, Valeria; D'Amore, Cataldo; Agnelli, Giancarlo; Checcarelli, Nicoletta; Guidotti, Mario; Arnaboldi, Marco; Giacalone, Giacomo; Zanoli, Elisa; Cavallini, Anna; Persico, Alessandra; Micieli, Giuseppe; Chiti, Alberto; Orlandi, Giovanni; Marchi, Piernicola; Lanari, Alessia; Ciccone, Alfonso; Cucurachi, Laura; Bonifati, Marco Domenico; Marcello, Norin

Risk of Guillain-Barr\ue9 syndrome after 2010-2011 influenza vaccination

Influenza vaccination has been implicated in Guillain Barr\ue9 Syndrome (GBS) although the evidence for this link is controversial. A case-control study was conducted between October 2010 and May 2011 in seven Italian Regions to explore the relation between influenza vaccination and GBS. The study included 176 GBS incident cases aged 6518 years from 86 neurological centers. Controls were selected among patients admitted for acute conditions to the Emergency Department of the same hospital as cases. Each control was matched to a case by sex, age, Region and admission date. Two different analyses were conducted: a matched case-control analysis and a self-controlled case series analysis (SCCS). Case-control analysis included 140 cases matched to 308 controls. The adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) for GBS occurrence within 6 weeks after influenza vaccination was 3.8 (95 % CI: 1.3, 10.5). A much stronger association with gastrointestinal infections (OR = 23.8; 95 % CI 7.3, 77.6) and influenza-like illness or upper respiratory tract infections (OR = 11.5; 95 % CI 5.6, 23.5) was highlighted. The SCCS analysis included all 176 GBS cases. Influenza vaccination was associated with GBS, with a relative risk of 2.1 (95 % CI 1.1, 3.9). According to these results the attributable risk in adults ranges from two to five GBS cases per 1,000,000 vaccinations