Correction of concentrated and distributed aberrations in medical ultrasound imaging

A method is presented for iterative correction of wave fields aberrated in a plane located at an arbitrary distance from an array transducer. The signals received from the transducer are processed by an inverse extrapolator in such a way that the output yields the transducer signals as if the transducer had been located directly at the position of the aberrator. For subsequent transmission cycles, the same inverse extrapolator is applied to delta pulses at time instants incorporating the time-reversed estimated aberration profile. The method can be applied to scattering and absorptive media, i.e. in medical conditions. The compensation of distributed aberration is also developed. It is shown that correction algorithms intended for concentrated aberrations can be used to reduce effects due to distributed aberrations; our conclusions with respect to the position of the equivalent concentrated aberrator differ from results reported in the literature. The method is demonstrated on realistic simulations of solid lesions, and cysts (voids) disturbed by intervening aberrating medi

Simulation of ultrasonic imaging with linear arrays in causal absorptive media

Rigorous and efficient numerical methods are presented for simulation of acoustic propagation in a medium where the absorption is described by relaxation processes. It is shown how FFT-based algorithms can be used to simulate ultrasound images in pulse-echo mode. General expressions are obtained for the complex wavenumber in a relaxing medium. A fit to measurements in biological media shows the appropriateness of the model. The wavenumber is applied to three FFT-based extrapolation operators, which are implemented in a weak form to reduce spatial aliasing. The influence of the absorptive medium on the quality of images obtained with a linear array transducer is demonstrated. It is shown that, for moderately absorbing media, the absorption has a large influence on the images, whereas the dispersion has a negligible effect on the images.\ud \u

Ultrasound wave propagation through rough interfaces: Iterative methods

Two iterative methods for the calculation of acoustic transmission through a rough interface\ud between two media are compared. The methods employ a continuous version of the conjugate\ud gradient technique. One method is based on plane-wave expansions and the other on boundary\ud integral equations and Green’s functions. A preconditioner is presented which improves the\ud convergence for spectra that include evanescent modes. The methods are compared with regard to\ud computational efficiency, rate of convergence, and residual error. The sound field differences are\ud determined for a focused ultrasound beam distorted by surfaces having a Gaussian roughness\ud spectrum. The differences are evaluated from the root-mean-square differences on the rough surface\ud and in the focal plane

Simulation of wave propagation through aberrating layers of biological media

Two iterative methods for the calculation of acoustic reflection and transmission at a rough interface between two media are compared. The methods are based on a continuous version of the conjugate gradient technique. One method is based on plane-wave expansions while the other method is based on boundary integral equations and Green's functions. The methods are compared with regard to computational efficiency, rate of convergence, and residual erro

Iterative calculation of reflected and transmitted acoustic waves at a rough interface

A rigorous iterative technique is described for calculating the acoustic wave reflection and transmission at an irregular interface between two different media. The method is based upon a plane-wave expansion technique in which the acoustic field equations and the radiation condition are satisfied analytically, while the boundary conditions at the interface are satisfied numerically. The latter is accomplished by an iterative minimization of the integrated squared error in the boundary conditions by a conjugate gradient technique, leading to a converging and relatively simple scheme. The plane interface result can be used as starting value. Although in principle the method is rigorous, numerical examples show that in practice there is a lower bound on the error in the boundary conditions which can be achieve

On the Firm’s Option Values of Short-Time Work Policies

We analyse the short-time work (STW) regulations that several OECD countries introduced after the 2007 financial crisis. We view these measures as a collection of real options and study the dynamic effect of STW on the endogenous liquidation decision of the firm. While STW delays a firm’s liquidation, it is not necessarily welfare enhancing. Moreover, it turns out that firms use STW too long. We show (numerically) that providers of capital benefit more than employees from STW. Benefits for employees can even be negative. A typical Nordic policy performs better than a typical Anglo-Saxon policy for all stakeholders

Controlled damaging and repair of self-organized nanostructures by atom manipulation at room temperature

The possibility of controlled local demolition and repair of the recently discovered self-organized Pt nanowires on Ge(001) surfaces has been explored. These nanowires are composed of Pt dimers, which are found to be rather weakly bound to the underlying substrate. Using this property, we demonstrate the possibility of carrying the constituting dimers of the Pt nanowires from point to point with atomic precision at room temperature. Pt dimers can be picked-up in two configurations: (i) a horizontal configuration at the tip apex, resulting in double tip images and (ii) a configuration where the Pt dimer is attached to the side of the tip apex, resulting in well-defined atomically resolved images

Menopausal stage differences in endothelial resistance to ischemia‐reperfusion injury

Background In postmenopausal women, reduced ovarian function precedes endothelial dysfunction and attenuated endothelial resistance to ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. We hypothesized that IR injury would lower endothelial function, with premenopausal women demonstrating the greatest protection from injury, followed by early, then late postmenopausal women. Methods Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was assessed at baseline and following IR injury in premenopausal (n = 11), early (n = 11; 4 ± 1.6 years since menopause), and late (n = 11; 15 ± 5.5 years since menopause) postmenopausal women. Results There were significant group differences in baseline FMD (p = 0.007); post hoc analysis revealed a similar resting FMD between premenopausal (7.8% ± 2.1%) and early postmenopausal (7.1% ± 2.7%), but significantly lower FMD in late postmenopausal women (4.5% ± 2.3%). Results showed an overall decline in FMD after IR injury (p < 0.001), and a significant condition*time interaction (p = 0.048), with early postmenopausal women demonstrating the most significant decline in FMD following IR. Conclusion Our findings indicate that endothelial resistance to IR injury is attenuated in healthy early postmenopausal women

Critical behavior of Josephson-junction arrays at f=1/2

The critical behavior of frustrated Josephson-junction arrays at $f=1/2$ flux quantum per plaquette is considered. Results from Monte Carlo simulations and transfer matrix computations support the identification of the critical behavior of the square and triangular classical arrays and the one-dimensional quantum ladder with the universality class of the XY-Ising model. In the quantum ladder, the transition can happen either as a simultaneous ordering of the $Z_2$ and $U(1)$ order parameters or in two separate stages, depending on the ratio between interchain and intrachain Josephson couplings. For the classical arrays, weak random plaquette disorder acts like a random field and positional disorder as random bonds on the $Z_2$ variables. Increasing positional disorder decouples the $Z_2$ and $U(1)$ variables leading to the same critical behavior as for integer $f$.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, workshop on JJA, to appear in Physica

Carotid artery vasoreactivity correlates with abdominal aortic vasoreactivity in young healthy individuals but not in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm

BACKGROUND: Sympathetic stimulation of central arteries, such as coronary and carotid arteries, cause vasodilation in healthy subjects, but vasoconstriction in those with increased cardiovascular risk. This study compared vasoreactivity to sympathetic stimulation between abdominal aorta and carotid artery in healthy young individuals (young group, n = 20), in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA group, n = 20) and in a healthy older group, age- and gender matched with AAA group (matched group, n = 18). METHOD: All subjects underwent cold pressor test, while performing concomitantly duplex ultrasound of abdominal aorta and carotid artery vasoreactivity. Observer-independent software was used to analyze and calculate magnitude and timing of maximum vasodilation or vasoconstriction. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to investigate vasoreactivity between arteries. RESULTS: Carotid artery reactivity [Interquartile range 25%, Interquartile range 75%] did not significantly differ between the young, matched and AAA group (3.5% [1.4, 4.7], 2.6% [2.0, 4.1] and 2.2% [-1.9, 3.7], respectively, p = 0.301). Abdominal aortic responsiveness demonstrated larger differences between young (4.9% [-0.2, 8.4]), matched (3.3% [-2.5, 4.4]) and individuals with AAA (0.5% [-3.9, 4.1], p = 0.059). Pooled analysis showed a significant correlation between carotid and abdominal aortic vasoreactivity (r = 0.444, p = 0.001). Subgroup analyses demonstrated significant correlation between both arteries in young (r = 0.636, p = 0.003), but not matched (r = −0.040, p = 0.866) or AAA group (r = 0.410, p = 0.129). CONCLUSIONS: Sympathetic stimulation induces powerful vasodilation of the carotid artery and abdominal aorta, which is significantly correlated in healthy individuals. No such correlation is present in abdominal aortic aneurysm patients. This suggests the aneurysm alters local abdominal aorta vasoreactivity, but not the carotid artery