Digital Integrator for Fast Accurate Measurement of Magnetic Flux by Rotating Coils

A fast digital integrator (FDI) with dynamic accuracy and a trigger frequency higher than those of a portable digital integrator (PDI), which is a state-of-the-art instrument for magnetic measurements based on rotating coils, was developed for analyzing superconducting magnets in particle accelerators. Results of static and dynamic metrological characterization show how the FDI prototype is already capable of overcoming the dynamic performance of PDI as well as covering operating regions that used to be inaccessibl

A Flexible Software Framework for Magnetic Measurements at CERN: a Prototype for the new Generation of Rotating Coils

A new software platform named FFMM (Flexible Framework for Magnetic Measurements) is under development at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in cooperation with the University of Sannio. The FFMM is aimed at facing the new test requirements arising after the production series of the Large Hadron Collider magnets. In particular, the basic concepts of the FFMM, its architecture, and the experimental implementation of a demonstrator are illustrated in order to show how the quality requirements of software flexibility and scalability are met

Performance Analysis of a Fast Digital Integrator for Magnetic Field Measurements at CERN

A Fast Digital Integrator (FDI) has been designed at CERN for increasing performance of state-of-art instruments analyzing superconducting magnets in particle accelerators. In particular, in flux measurement, a bandwidth up to 50-100 kHz and an accuracy of 10 ppm has to be targeted. In this paper, basic concepts and architecture of the developed FDI are highlighted. Numerical metrological analysis of the instrument performance is shown, by focusing both on deterministic errors and on uncertainty in time and amplitude domains

Metrological Characterisation of a Fast Digital Integrator for Magnetic Measurements at CERN

A Fast Digital Integrator (FDI) was designed to satisfy new more demanding requirements of dynamic accuracy and trigger frequency in magnetic measurements based on rotating coil systems for analyzing superconducting magnets in particle accelerators. In particular, in flux measurement, a bandwidth up to 50-100 kHz and a dynamic accuracy of 10 ppm are targeted. In this paper, results of static and dynamic metrological characterization of the FDI prototype and of the Portable Digital Integrator (PDI), heavely used at CERN and in many sub-nuclear laboratories, are compared. Preliminary results show how the initial prototype of FDI is already capable of both overcoming dynamic performance of PDI and covering operating regions inaccessible before

Fault self-defection of automatic testing systems by means of aspect-oriented programming

An Aspect Oriented approach to implement fault detection in automatic measurement systems is proposed. Faults are handled by means of "aspects", a specific software unit to better modularize issues transversal to many modules ("crosscutting concerns"). In this way, maintainability and reusability of a measurement software are improved: indeed, once a modification of the fault detection policy occurs, only the related aspects have to be modified. As an experimental case study, this technique has been applied to the fault self-detection of a flexible framework for magnetic measurements, developed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

Thyroid ultrasonography reporting: consensus of Italian Thyroid Association (AIT), Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE), Italian Society of Ultrasonography in Medicine and Biology (SIUMB) and Ultrasound Chapter of Italian Society of Medical Radiology (SIRM)

Thyroid ultrasonography (US) is the gold standard for thyroid imaging and its widespread use is due to an optimal spatial resolution for superficial anatomic structures, a low cost and the lack of health risks. Thyroid US is a pivotal tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of autoimmune thyroid diseases, for assessing nodule size and echostructure and defining the risk of malignancy in thyroid nodules. The main limitation of US is the poor reproducibility, due to the variable experience of the operators and the different performance and settings of the equipments. Aim of this consensus statement is to standardize the report of thyroid US through the definition of common minimum requirements and a correct terminology. US patterns of autoimmune thyroid diseases are defined. US signs of malignancy in thyroid nodules are classified and scored in each nodule. We also propose a simplified nodule risk stratification, based on the predictive value of each US sign, classified and scored according to the strength of association with malignancy, but also to the estimated reproducibility among different operators

Technology applications in shoulder replacement

The advancement of technologies in orthopaedic surgery should provide the surgeon with precise and trustworthy support for pre-operative planning, intra-operative guidance and post-operative follow-up. The request for greater accuracy, predictable results and fewer complications, is the engine of digital evolution in pre-operative planning and computer-assisted surgery (CAS). It is an evolution rather than a revolution, and in the last few years these developments have begun to involve shoulder replacement surgery, too

Thyroid nodules treated with percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation: a comparative study

Percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation (RTA) was reported as an effective tool for the management of thyroid nodules (TNs). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of RTA and to establish whether they were treatment-related by comparison with a matched, untreated control group

A Fast Digital Integrator for Magnetic Field Measurements at CERN

A self-calibrating digital instrument for flux measurements on magnets for accelerators used in basic research on subnuclear particles is proposed. The instrument acquires voltage arising from rotating coils transducers with a theoretical resolution of 10 ppt and a maximum sampling frequency of 800 kS/s. Then, samples are integrated on-line and suitably processed in order to improve time resolution and flux accuracy. This allows the limits of state-of-the-art digital fluximeters, related mainly to newgeneration rotating coils, with trigger rate of 20 kHz and coils speed of 10 rps, to be overcome. The instrument has been prototyped at Magnetic Measurement and Testing (MTM) Group of European Laboratory for Nuclear Research (CERN), under a framework of cooperation with the University of Sannio. Details on hardware and firmware conception, as well as on experimental results of the instrument principle validation, and of the preliminary metrological characterization of the prototype, are provided