Our experience in the implementation of computer tomography quality control program ˗ a multidisciplinary approach

Prema članku 33. Zakona o radiološkoj i nuklearnoj sigurnosti (NN 141/13, 39/15, 130/17, 118/18) te člancima 14., 15. i 16. Pravilnika o uvjetima i mjerama zaštite od ionizirajućeg zračenja za obavljanje djelatnosti s izvorima ionizirajućeg zračenja (NN 53/18), radiološki odjeli u Hrvatskoj koji provode dijagnostičke i intervencijske postupke u medicini upotrebom ionizirajućeg zračenja, obvezni su provoditi program osiguranja i kontrole kvalitete električnih uređaja koji proizvode ionizirajuće zračenje. Parametri koji moraju biti mjereni definirani su u Prilozima 3. do 12. koji su sastavni dio Pravilnika o uvjetima i mjerama zaštite od ionizirajućeg zračenja za obavljanje djelatnosti s izvorima ionizirajućeg zračenja (NN 53/18). U Klinici za infektivne bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljević” u Zagrebu dnevne testove provode radiološki tehnolozi, dok složenije procedure mjesečno i godišnje provode medicinski fizičari. Tijekom provođenja testova kontrole kvalitete, upotrebljava se različita oprema za evaluaciju parametara uređaja. U slučaju odstupanja od preporučenih rezultata, moraju se poduzeti korektivne mjere kako bi se ispravila odstupanja. Sve procedure moraju biti pohranjene, a izvješća upućena kompetentnim osobama i institucijama. Cilj je ovog rada prikazati multidisciplinarni pristup u provođenju programa kontrole kvalitete uređaja za kompjutoriziranu tomografiju u Klinici za infektivne bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljević” u Zagrebu od ožujka do rujna 2018. godine. Multidisciplinarni tim sastojao se od radioloških tehnologa i radiologa iz Klinike za infektivne bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljević” u Zagrebu, studenata radiološke tehnologije Zdravstvenog veleučilišta u Zagrebu i medicinskih fizičara iz Kliničkog bolničkog centra u Rijeci. Fizičari savjetuju radiološke tehnologe o tehničkim poboljšanjima kako bi postigli najbolje rezultate u provođenju svakodnevnih procedura kontrole kvalitete. Svi testirani parametri bili su u granicama prihvatljivosti, osim detekcije prstenastih artefakata. Da bi se otklonili prstenasti artefakti, pročelnica Zavoda za radiologiju i ultrazvuk Klinike i glavni radiološki tehnolog stupili su u kontakt s ovlaštenim servisom za održavanje uređaja. Servisni inženjeri proveli su kalibraciju detektora (s odgovarajućim fantomom) za točnost CT brojeva i uklanjanje prstenastih artefakata na snimkama.According to the Article 33 of the Act on Radiological and Nuclear Safety (Official Gazette 141/13; 39/15; 130/17; 118/18), Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Ordinance on the conditions and measures of ionising radiation protection for performing activities involving ionising radiation sources (Official Gazette 53/18), radiological departments in Croatia that conduct diagnostic and interventional procedures in medicine using X-ray units should establish a Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) programme for sources of ionizing radiation. Parameters that should be measured are defined in the Annexes 3-12 of the Ordinance on the conditions and measures of ionising radiation protection for performing activities involving ionising radiation sources (Official Gazette 53/18). Daily tests are performed by radiologic technologists, while more complex procedures are conducted by medical physicists, monthly or annually. While performing QC procedures, different scanning equipment is used to evaluate device parameters. In case of deviations from the recommended results, corrective measures for irregularity correction should be applied. All procedures must be registered and reported to the competent persons and institutions. The aim of this paper is to present a multidisciplinary approach in the QC program for the computed tomography (CT) scanner at the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases (UHID) in Zagreb, from March to September 2018. A multidisciplinary team consisted of radiologic technologists and a radiologist from UHID, radiologic technology students from the University of Applied Health Sciences in Zagreb and medical physicists from the Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka. Physicists advise radiologic technologists on the technical improvements in order to achieve the most efficient performance in their everyday QC procedures. All tested parameters were acceptable except for the detection of ring artefacts. To eliminate ring artefacts the head of the Department of Radiology and Ultrasound of the UHID and the principal radiologic technologist contacted the company certified for CT technical service and maintenance. Service engineer performed detector calibration procedure (with CT calibration phantoms) for CT number adjustment and image ring artefacts correction

TeraHertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics (THEZA): ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper

This paper presents the ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper for a concept of TeraHertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics (THEZA). It addresses the science case and some implementation issues of a space-borne radio interferometric system for ultra-sharp imaging of celestial radio sources at the level of angular resolution down to (sub-) microarcseconds. THEZA focuses at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths (frequencies above $\sim$300~GHz), but allows for science operations at longer wavelengths too. The THEZA concept science rationale is focused on the physics of spacetime in the vicinity of supermassive black holes as the leading science driver. The main aim of the concept is to facilitate a major leap by providing researchers with orders of magnitude improvements in the resolution and dynamic range in direct imaging studies of the most exotic objects in the Universe, black holes. The concept will open up a sizeable range of hitherto unreachable parameters of observational astrophysics. It unifies two major lines of development of space-borne radio astronomy of the past decades: Space VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) and mm- and sub-mm astrophysical studies with "single dish" instruments. It also builds upon the recent success of the Earth-based Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) -- the first-ever direct image of a shadow of the super-massive black hole in the centre of the galaxy M87. As an amalgam of these three major areas of modern observational astrophysics, THEZA aims at facilitating a breakthrough in high-resolution high image quality studies in the millimetre and sub-millimetre domain of the electromagnetic spectrum.Comment: White Paper submitted in response to the ESA Call Voyage 205

The science case and challenges of space-borne sub-millimeter interferometry

Ultra-high angular resolution in astronomy has always been an important vehicle for making fundamental discoveries. Recent results in direct imaging of the vicinity of the supermassive black hole in the nucleus of the radio galaxy M87 by the millimeter VLBI system Event Horizon Telescope and various pioneering results of the Space VLBI mission RadioAstron provided new momentum in high angular resolution astrophysics. In both mentioned cases, the angular resolution reached the values of about 10–20 microarcseconds (0.05–0.1 nanoradian). Further developments towards at least an order of magnitude “sharper” values, at the level of 1 microarcsecond are dictated by the needs of advanced astrophysical studies. The paper emphasis that these higher values can only be achieved by placing millimeter and submillimeter wavelength interferometric systems in space. A concept of such the system, called Terahertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics, has been proposed in the framework of the ESA Call for White Papers for the Voyage 2050 long term plan in 2019. In the current paper we present new science objectives for such the concept based on recent results in studies of active galactic nuclei and supermassive black holes. We also discuss several approaches for addressing technological challenges of creating a millimeter/sub-millimeter wavelength interferometric system in space. In particular, we consider a novel configuration of a space-borne millimeter/sub-millimeter antenna which might resolve several bottlenecks in creating large precise mechanical structures. The paper also presents an overview of prospective space-qualified technologies of low-noise analogue front-end instrumentation for millimeter/sub-millimeter telescopes. Data handling and processing instrumentation is another key technological component of a sub-millimeter Space VLBI system. Requirements and possible implementation options for this instrumentation are described as an extrapolation of the current state-of-the-art Earth-based VLBI data transport and processing instrumentation. The paper also briefly discusses approaches to the interferometric baseline state vector determination and synchronisation and heterodyning system. The technology-oriented sections of the paper do not aim at presenting a complete set of technological solutions for sub-millimeter (terahertz) space-borne interferometers. Rather, in combination with the original ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper, it sharpens the case for the next generation microarcsecond-level imaging instruments and provides starting points for further in-depth technology trade-off studies.</p

Kontrola i osiguranje kvalitete uređaja za dijaskopiju

Ovaj je završni rad izrađen kao dio znanstvenog projekta „Provođenje programa kontrole i osiguranja kvalitete uređaja koji proizvode električno zračenje i procjena medicinskog zračenja pacijenata na Zavodu za radiologiju i ultrazvuk Klinike za infektivne bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljević“ u Zagrebu“ prihvaćenog od strane Povjerenstva za evaluaciju znanstvenih projekata koje financira Zdravstveno veleučilište u Zagrebu, 2018. Godine, čija voditeljica je prim.dr.sc. Klaudija Višković, viši predavač Zdravstvenog veleučilišta u Zagrebu

Kontrola i osiguranje kvalitete uređaja za dijaskopiju

Ovaj je završni rad izrađen kao dio znanstvenog projekta „Provođenje programa kontrole i osiguranja kvalitete uređaja koji proizvode električno zračenje i procjena medicinskog zračenja pacijenata na Zavodu za radiologiju i ultrazvuk Klinike za infektivne bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljević“ u Zagrebu“ prihvaćenog od strane Povjerenstva za evaluaciju znanstvenih projekata koje financira Zdravstveno veleučilište u Zagrebu, 2018. Godine, čija voditeljica je prim.dr.sc. Klaudija Višković, viši predavač Zdravstvenog veleučilišta u Zagrebu

Nine differentially expressed genes from a post mortem study and their association with suicidal status in a sample of suicide completers, attempters and controls

none16siSeveral lines of evidence indicate that suicidal behaviour is partly heritable, with multiple genes implicated in its aetiology. We focused on nine genes (S100A13, EFEMP1, PCDHB5, PDGFRB, CDCA7L, SCN2B, PTPRR, MLC1 and ZFP36) which we previously detected as differentially expressed in the cortex of suicide victims compared to controls. We investigated 84 variants within these genes in 495 suicidal subjects (299 completers and 196 attempters) and 1513 controls (109 post-mortem and 1404 healthy). We evaluated associations with: 1) suicidal phenotype; 2) possible endophenotypes for suicidal behaviour. Overall positive results did not survive the correction threshold. However, we found a nominally different distribution of EFEMP1 genotypes, alleles and haplotypes between suicidal subjects and controls, results that were partially replicated when we separately considered the subgroup of suicide completers and post-mortem controls. A weaker association emerged also for PTPRR. Both EFEMP1 and PTPRR genes were also related to possible endophenotypes for suicidal behaviour such as anger, depression-anxiety and fatigue. Because of the large number of analyses performed and the low significance values further replication are mandatory. Nevertheless, neurotrophic gene variants, in particular EFEMP1 and PTPRR, may have a role in the pathogenesis of suicidal behaviour.noneBalestri, Martina; Crisafulli, Concetta; Donato, Luigi; Giegling, Ina; Calati, Raffaella; Antypa, Niki; Schneider, Barbara; Marusic, Dragan; Tarozzi, Maria Eugenia; Marusic, Dorjan; Paragi, Metka; Hartmann, Annette M.; Konte, Bettina; Marsano, Agnese; Serretti, Alessandro; Rujescu, DanBalestri, Martina; Crisafulli, Concetta; Donato, Luigi; Giegling, Ina; Calati, Raffaella; Antypa, Niki; Schneider, Barbara; Marusic, Dragan; Tarozzi, Maria Eugenia; Marusic, Dorjan; Paragi, Metka; Hartmann, Annette M.; Konte, Bettina; Marsano, Agnese; Serretti, Alessandro; Rujescu, Da

TeraHertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics (THEZA): ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper

The astrophysical agenda of the 21st century requires a very sharp view of celestial objects. High angular resolution studies are essential for fundamental studies of a broad variety of astrophysical phenomena ranging from relativistic physics of black holes, their gravitational and electromagnetic imprints, violent transient processes, including those producing detectable gravitational waves, birth and evolution of planetary systems. Over the past decades, radio astronomy made huge leap in achieving ground-breaking angular resolution measured in tens of microarcseconds (one tenth of nanoradian and better). Recently a global Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration obtained first direct images of the shadow of a super-massive black hole in the nucleus of the active galaxy M87. These observations were conducted at 230 GHz. The two first generation Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) missions, VSOP/HALCA led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and RadioAstron led by the Russia Roscosmos State Corporation and Russia Academy of Sciences, achieved the highest angular resolution at frequencies from 0.3 to 22 GHz in observations conducted in the period 1997 - 2019. The next step in advancing high angular resolution radio astronomy is in combining high frequency (millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths) and interferometric baselines exceeding the Earth diameter. The present THEZA White Paper describes a combination which would unify technology developments in giga-/tera-hertz instrumentation and space-borne radio astronomy. The current preprint version of the THEZA White Paper is slightly re-formatted and edited comparing to the official submitted version

The science case and challenges of space-borne sub-millimeter interferometry

Ultra-high angular resolution in astronomy has always been an important vehicle for making fundamental discoveries. Recent results in direct imaging of the vicinity of the supermassive black hole in the nucleus of the radio galaxy M87 by the millimeter VLBI system Event Horizon Telescope and various pioneering results of the Space VLBI mission RadioAstron provided new momentum in high angular resolution astrophysics. In both mentioned cases, the angular resolution reached the values of about 10–20 microarcseconds (0.05–0.1 nanoradian). Further developments towards at least an order of magnitude “sharper” values, at the level of 1 microarcsecond are dictated by the needs of advanced astrophysical studies. The paper emphasis that these higher values can only be achieved by placing millimeter and submillimeter wavelength interferometric systems in space. A concept of such the system, called Terahertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics, has been proposed in the framework of the ESA Call for White Papers for the Voyage 2050 long term plan in 2019. In the current paper we present new science objectives for such the concept based on recent results in studies of active galactic nuclei and supermassive black holes. We also discuss several approaches for addressing technological challenges of creating a millimeter/sub-millimeter wavelength interferometric system in space. In particular, we consider a novel configuration of a space-borne millimeter/sub-millimeter antenna which might resolve several bottlenecks in creating large precise mechanical structures. The paper also presents an overview of prospective space-qualified technologies of low-noise analogue front-end instrumentation for millimeter/sub-millimeter telescopes. Data handling and processing instrumentation is another key technological component of a sub-millimeter Space VLBI system. Requirements and possible implementation options for this instrumentation are described as an extrapolation of the current state-of-the-art Earth-based VLBI data transport and processing instrumentation. The paper also briefly discusses approaches to the interferometric baseline state vector determination and synchronisation and heterodyning system. The technology-oriented sections of the paper do not aim at presenting a complete set of technological solutions for sub-millimeter (terahertz) space-borne interferometers. Rather, in combination with the original ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper, it sharpens the case for the next generation microarcsecond-level imaging instruments and provides starting points for further in-depth technology trade-off studies.Peer reviewe