Free-Form Deformation Approach for Registration of Visible and Infrared Facial Images in Fever Screening

Fever screening based on infrared (IR) thermographs (IRTs) is an approach that has been implemented during infectious disease pandemics, such as Ebola and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. A recently published international standard indicates that regions medially adjacent to the inner canthi provide accurate estimates of core body temperature and are preferred sites for fever screening. Therefore, rapid, automated identification of the canthi regions within facial IR images may greatly facilitate rapid fever screening of asymptomatic travelers. However, it is more difficult to accurately identify the canthi regions from IR images than from visible images that are rich with exploitable features. In this study, we developed and evaluated techniques for multi-modality image registration (MMIR) of simultaneously captured visible and IR facial images for fever screening. We used free form deformation (FFD) models based on edge maps to improve registration accuracy after an affine transformation. Two widely used FFD models in medical image registration based on the Demons and cubic B-spline algorithms were qualitatively compared. The results showed that the Demons algorithm outperformed the cubic B-spline algorithm, likely due to overfitting of outliers by the latter method. The quantitative measure of registration accuracy, obtained through selected control point correspondence, was within 2.8 ± 1.2 mm, which enables accurate and automatic localization of canthi regions in the IR images for temperature measurement

Observations on some aspects of biology of webfoot octopus, Octopus membranaceus Quoy and Gaimard, 1832 off Visakhapatnam, east coast of India

ABSTRACT The biology of Octopus membranaceus off Visakhapatnam (Lat.17° 41' N Long. 83° 17'E) was studied. A Scale of four stages of maturity of gonads was identified. The mean length at first maturity was found to be 225 mm total length. Sex ratio indicated that there is a significant difference between males and females in their occurrence. Spawning takes place throughout the year with peak in September. Fecundity varied from 20,432 to 62,324. O. membranaceus was a benthic carnivore, feeding on fishes, shrimps, crabs and squilla in the order of importance. A common regression equation for both the sexes in O. membranaceus was W=9E-5 L2.37

Free-Form Deformation Approach for Registration of Visible and Infrared Facial Images in Fever Screening

Fever screening based on infrared (IR) thermographs (IRTs) is an approach that has been implemented during infectious disease pandemics, such as Ebola and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. A recently published international standard indicates that regions medially adjacent to the inner canthi provide accurate estimates of core body temperature and are preferred sites for fever screening. Therefore, rapid, automated identification of the canthi regions within facial IR images may greatly facilitate rapid fever screening of asymptomatic travelers. However, it is more difficult to accurately identify the canthi regions from IR images than from visible images that are rich with exploitable features. In this study, we developed and evaluated techniques for multi-modality image registration (MMIR) of simultaneously captured visible and IR facial images for fever screening. We used free form deformation (FFD) models based on edge maps to improve registration accuracy after an affine transformation. Two widely used FFD models in medical image registration based on the Demons and cubic B-spline algorithms were qualitatively compared. The results showed that the Demons algorithm outperformed the cubic B-spline algorithm, likely due to overfitting of outliers by the latter method. The quantitative measure of registration accuracy, obtained through selected control point correspondence, was within 2.8 ± 1.2 mm, which enables accurate and automatic localization of canthi regions in the IR images for temperature measurement

Detecting Psychological Interventions Using Bilateral Electromyographic Wearable Sensors

This study investigated the impact of auditory stimuli on muscular activation patterns using wearable surface electromyography (EMG) sensors. Employing four key muscles (Sternocleidomastoid Muscle (SCM), Cervical Erector Muscle (CEM), Quadricep Muscles (QMs), and Tibialis Muscle (TM)) and time domain features, we differentiated the effects of four interventions: silence, music, positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement. The results demonstrated distinct muscle responses to the interventions, with the SCM and CEM being the most sensitive to changes and the TM being the most active and stimulus dependent. Post hoc analyses revealed significant intervention-specific activations in the CEM and TM for specific time points and intervention pairs, suggesting dynamic modulation and time-dependent integration. Multi-feature analysis identified both statistical and Hjorth features as potent discriminators, reflecting diverse adaptations in muscle recruitment, activation intensity, control, and signal dynamics. These features hold promise as potential biomarkers for monitoring muscle function in various clinical and research applications. Finally, muscle-specific Random Forest classification achieved the highest accuracy and Area Under the ROC Curve for the TM, indicating its potential for differentiating interventions with high precision. This study paves the way for personalized neuroadaptive interventions in rehabilitation, sports science, ergonomics, and healthcare by exploiting the diverse and dynamic landscape of muscle responses to auditory stimuli