16,212 research outputs found
3D printing endobronchial models for surgical training and simulation
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Many methods and devices help acquire more accurate clinical and localization information during lung interventions and may impact the death rate for lung cancer. However, there is a learning curve for operating these tools due to the complex structure of the airway. In this study, we first discuss the creation of a lung phantom model from medical images, which is followed by a comparison of 3D printing in terms of quality and consistency. Two tests were conducted to test the performance of the developed phantom, which was designed for training simulations of the target and ablation processes in endochonchial interventions. The target test was conducted through an electromagnetic tracking catheter with navigation software. An ablation catheter with a recently developed thermochromic ablation gel conducted the ablation test. The results of two tests show that the phantom was very useful for target and ablation simulation. In addition, the thermochromic gel allowed doctors to visualize the ablation zone. Many lung interventions may benefit from custom training or accuracy with the proposed low-cost and patient-specific phantom
Photometry of SN 2002ic and Implications for the Progenitor Mass-Loss History
We present new pre-maximum and late-time optical photometry of the Type
Ia/IIn supernova 2002ic. These observations are combined with the published
V-band magnitudes of Hamuy et al. (2003) and the VLT spectrophotometry of Wang
et al. (2004) to construct the most extensive light curve to date of this
unusual supernova. The observed flux at late time is significantly higher
relative to the flux at maximum than that of any other observed Type Ia
supernova and continues to fade very slowly a year after explosion. Our
analysis of the light curve suggests that a non-Type Ia supernova component
becomes prominent days after explosion. Modeling of the non-Type Ia
supernova component as heating from the shock interaction of the supernova
ejecta with pre-existing circumstellar material suggests the presence of a
cm gap or trough between the progenitor system and the
surrounding circumstellar material. This gap could be due to significantly
lower mass-loss years prior to explosion or
evacuation of the circumstellar material by a low-density fast wind. The latter
is consistent with observed properties of proto-planetary nebulae and with
models of white-dwarf + asymptotic giant branch star progenitor systems with
the asymptotic giant branch star in the proto-planetary nebula phase.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
3-D Models of Embedded High-Mass Stars: Effects of a Clumpy Circumstellar Medium
We use 3-D radiative transfer models to show the effects of clumpy
circumstellar material on the observed infrared colors of high mass stars
embedded in molecular clouds. We highlight differences between 3-D clumpy and
1-D smooth models which can affect the interpretation of data. We discuss
several important properties of the emergent spectral energy distribution
(SED): More near-infrared light (scattered and direct from the central source)
can escape than in smooth 1-D models. The near- and mid-infrared SED of the
same object can vary significantly with viewing angle, depending on the clump
geometry along the sightline. Even the wavelength-integrated flux can vary with
angle by more than a factor of two. Objects with the same average circumstellar
dust distribution can have very different near-and mid-IR SEDs depending on the
clump geometry and the proximity of the most massive clump to the central
source.
Although clumpiness can cause similar objects to have very different SEDs,
there are some observable trends. Near- and mid-infrared colors are sensitive
to the weighted average distance of clumps from the central source and to the
magnitude of clumpy density variations (smooth-to-clumpy ratio). Far-infrared
emission remains a robust measure of the total dust mass. We present simulated
SEDs, colors, and images for 2MASS and Spitzer filters. We compare to
observations of some UCHII regions and find that 3-D clumpy models fit better
than smooth models. In particular, clumpy models with fractal dimensions in the
range 2.3-2.8, smooth to clumpy ratios of <50%, and density distributions with
shallow average radial density profiles fit the SEDs best.Comment: accepted to ApJ; version with full-res figures:
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~ri3e/clumpy3d.pd
Laser-wakefield accelerators as hard x-ray sources for 3D medical imaging of human bone
A bright ÎŒm-sized source of hard synchrotron x-rays (critical energy Ecritâ>â30âkeV) based on the betatron oscillations of laser wakefield accelerated electrons has been developed. The potential of this source for medical imaging was demonstrated by performing micro-computed tomography of a human femoral trabecular bone sample, allowing full 3D reconstruction to a resolution below 50âÎŒm. The use of a 1âcm long wakefield accelerator means that the length of the beamline (excluding the laser) is dominated by the x-ray imaging distances rather than the electron acceleration distances. The source possesses high peak brightness, which allows each image to be recorded with a single exposure and reduces the time required for a full tomographic scan. These properties make this an interesting laboratory source for many tomographic imaging applications
A Blind Search for Magnetospheric Emissions from Planetary Companions to Nearby Solar-type Stars
This paper reports a blind search for magnetospheric emissions from planets
around nearby stars. Young stars are likely to have much stronger stellar winds
than the Sun, and because planetary magnetospheric emissions are powered by
stellar winds, stronger stellar winds may enhance the radio luminosity of any
orbiting planets. Using various stellar catalogs, we selected nearby stars (<~
30 pc) with relatively young age estimates (< 3 Gyr). We constructed different
samples from the stellar catalogs, finding between 100 and several hundred
stars. We stacked images from the 74-MHz (4-m wavelength) VLA Low-frequency Sky
Survey (VLSS), obtaining 3\sigma limits on planetary emission in the stacked
images of between 10 and 33 mJy. These flux density limits correspond to
average planetary luminosities less than 5--10 x 10^{23} erg/s. Using recent
models for the scaling of stellar wind velocity, density, and magnetic field
with stellar age, we estimate scaling factors for the strength of stellar
winds, relative to the Sun, in our samples. The typical kinetic energy carried
by the stellar winds in our samples is 15--50 times larger than that of the
Sun, and the typical magnetic energy is 5--10 times larger. If we assume that
every star is orbited by a Jupiter-like planet with a luminosity larger than
that of the Jovian decametric radiation by the above factors, our limits on
planetary luminosities from the stacking analysis are likely to be a factor of
10--100 above what would be required to detect the planets in a statistical
sense. Similar statistical analyses with observations by future instruments,
such as the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) and the Long Wavelength Array (LWA),
offer the promise of improvements by factors of 10--100.Comment: 11 pages; AASTeX; accepted for publication in A
Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation of rapid directional solidification
We present the results of non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations for
the growth of a solid binary alloy from its liquid phase. The regime of high
pulling velocities, , for which there is a progressive transition from
solute segregation to solute trapping, is considered. In the segregation
regime, we recover the exponential form of the concentration profile within the
liquid phase. Solute trapping is shown to settle in progressively as is
increased and our results are in good agreement with the theoretical
predictions of Aziz [J. Appl. Phys. {\bf 53}, 1158 (1981)]. In addition, the
fluid advection velocity is shown to remain directly proportional to , even
at the highest velocities considered here (ms).Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
2-D Radiative Transfer in Protostellar Envelopes: I. Effects of Geometry on Class I Sources
We present 2-D radiation transfer models of Class I Protostars and show the
effect of including more realistic geometries on the resulting spectral energy
distributions and images. We begin with a rotationally flattened infalling
envelope as our comparison model, and add a flared disk and bipolar cavity. The
disk affects the spectral energy distribution most strongly at edge-on
inclinations, causing a broad dip at about 10 um (independent of the silicate
feature) due to high extinction and low scattering albedo in this wavelength
region. The bipolar cavities allow more direct stellar+disk radiation to emerge
into polar directions, and more scattering radiation to emerge into all
directions. The wavelength-integrated flux, often interpreted as luminosity,
varies with viewing angle, with pole-on viewing angles seeing 2-4 times as much
flux as edge-on, depending on geometry. Thus, observational estimates of
luminosity should take into account the inclination of a source. The envelopes
with cavities are significantly bluer in near-IR and mid-IR color-color plots
than those without cavities. Using 1-D models to interpret Class I sources with
bipolar cavities would lead to an underestimate of envelope mass and an
overestimate of the implied evolutionary state. We compute images at near-,
mid-, and far-IR wavelengths. We find that the mid-IR colors and images are
sensitive to scattering albedo, and that the flared disk shadows the midplane
on large size scales at all wavelengths plotted. Finally, our models produce
polarization spectra which can be used to diagnose dust properties, such as
albedo variations due to grain growth. Our results of polarization across the
3.1 um ice feature agree well with observations for ice mantles covering 5% of
the radius of the grains.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 37 pages, 13 figures (several
figures reduced in quality; find original version at
http://gemelli.colorado.edu/~bwhitney/preprints.html
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