Multiresolution discrete optimization registration method of ultrasound and magnetic resonance images based on key points / 生物医学工程学杂志

The registration of preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) images and intraoperative ultrasound (US) images is very important in the planning of brain tumor surgery and during surgery. Considering that the two-modality images have different intensity range and resolution, and the US images are degraded by lots of speckle noises, a self-similarity context (SSC) descriptor based on local neighborhood information was adopted to define the similarity measure. The ultrasound images were considered as the reference, the corners were extracted as the key points using three-dimensional differential operators, and the dense displacement sampling discrete optimization algorithm was adopted for registration. The whole registration process was divided into two stages including the affine registration and the elastic registration. In the affine registration stage, the image was decomposed using multi-resolution scheme, and in the elastic registration stage, the displacement vectors of key points were regularized using the minimum convolution and mean field reasoning strategies. The registration experiment was performed on the preoperative MR images and intraoperative US images of 22 patients. The overall error after affine registration was (1.57 ± 0.30) mm, and the average computation time of each pair of images was only 1.36 s; while the overall error after elastic registration was further reduced to (1.40 ± 0.28) mm, and the average registration time was 1.53 s. The experimental results show that the proposed method has prominent registration accuracy and high computational efficiency.

Comprehensive evaluation method of real-time non-reference ultrasound image involving soft tissue deformation / 生物医学工程学杂志

Ultrasound guided percutaneous interventional therapy has been widely used in clinic. Aiming at the problem of soft tissue deformation caused by probe contact force in robot-assisted ultrasound-guided therapy, a real-time non-reference ultrasound image evaluation method considering soft tissue deformation is proposed. On the basis of ultrasound image brightness and sharpness, a multi-dimensional ultrasound image evaluation index was designed, which incorporated the aggregation characteristics of the organization. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, ultrasound images of four different models were collected for experiments, including prostate phantom, phantom with cyst, pig liver tissue, and pig liver tissue with cyst. In addition, the correlation between subjective and objective evaluations was analyzed based on Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Experimental results showed that the average evaluation time of a single image was 68.8 milliseconds. The evaluation time could satisfy real-time applications. The proposed method realizes the effective evaluation of real-time ultrasound image quality in robot-assisted therapy, and has good consistency with the evaluation of supervisors.

Research progress on ultrasound image-guided brachytherapy for cervical cancer / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Brachytherapy is an integral part of radiotherapy treatment for cervical cancer. With the rapid development of medical imaging technology, three-dimensional (3D) imaging modality has been applied in the brachytherapy for cervical cancer. After computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 3D ultrasound has been gradually applied to guide the brachytherapy for cervical cancer due to its superior soft tissue imaging characteristics, economy, high efficiency and convenience. In this article, the research progress on the application of ultrasonography in brachytherapy was summarized according to literature review, aiming to provide reference for subsequent research.

Research progress on ultrasound image-guided brachytherapy for cervical cancer / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Brachytherapy is an integral part of radiotherapy treatment for cervical cancer.With the rapid development of medical imaging technology,three-dimensional (3D) imaging modality has been applied in the brachytherapy for cervical cancer.After computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),3D ultrasound has been gradually applied to guide the brachytherapy for cervical cancer due to its superior soft tissue imaging characteristics,economy,high efficiency and convenience.In this article,the research progress on the application of ultrasonography in brachytherapy was summarized according to literature review,aiming to provide reference for subsequent research.

Research of obtaining pseudo-CT images based on ultrasound deformation fields in radiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective An improved method for obtaining pseudo-computed tomography (CT ps) based on ultrasound deformation field.Methods The three-dimensional image data of computed tomography and ultrasound for three postoperative cervical cancer patients were selected,including the CT (CTsim) and ultrasound (USsim) images obtained during the simulated positioning stage,and the cone beam CT (CBCT) and ultrasound images obtained during the positioning verification stage of the treatment one week later.Binary masks of the OROI and OROW were created and applied in ultrasound image registration;thus,the deformation field was obtained.The deformation field was applied to CTsim images and different pseudo-CT images were obtained.Similarities between these pseudo-CT images and those of CBCT were compared,and registration accuracies between pseudo-CT images under different binary masks and CTsim were discussed.Results The averages of the correlation coefficient between pseudo-CT based on OROI,OROW,no binary mask and CBCT were 0.95,0.82 and 0.64 respectively.The average of the normalized mean square Error were 0.12,0.42 and 0.57 respectively.Conclusion The pseudo-CT based on OROI binary mask matches the best with CTsim and achieves the highest similarity with CBCT.

Kidney tumor segmentation in ultrasound images using adaptive sub-regional evolution level set models / 生物医学工程学杂志

Kidney tumor is one of the diseases threatening human health. Ultrasound is widely applied in kidney tumor diagnosis due to its high popularization, low price and no radiation. Accurate segmentation of kidney tumor is the basis of precise treatment. Kidney tumors often grow in the middle of cortex, so that segmentation is easy disturbed by nearby organs. Besides, ultrasound images own low contrast and large speckle, leading to difficult segmentation. This paper proposed a novel kidney tumor segmentation method in ultrasound images using adaptive sub-regional evolution level set models (ASLSM). Regions of interest are firstly divided into subareas. Secondly, object function is designed by integrating inside and outside energy and gradient, in which the ratio of these two parts are adjusted adaptively. Thirdly, ASLSM adapts convolution radius and curvature according to centroid principle and similarity inside and outside zero level set. Hausdorff distance (HD) of (8.75 ± 4.21) mm, mean absolute distance (MAD) of (3.26 ± 1.69) mm, dice-coefficient (DICE) of 0.93 ± 0.03 were obtained in the experiment. Compared with traditional ultrasound segmentation method, ASLSM is more accurate in kidney tumor segmentation. ASLSM may offer convenience for doctor to locate and diagnose kidney tumor in the future.

Influence of Slashpipe Exercise on Symmetrical Contraction of Trunk Muscle in Normal Adults

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of slashpipe exercise on reducing the thickness of the left and right external oblique, internal oblique, transverse abdominis, erector spinae, and multifidus muscles.METHODS: A total of 29 healthy adult men and women were included in the study. They performed trunk flexion in the supine position and trunk extension in the prone position with a slashpipe and weight bar. The external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis muscles were measured in the supine position, while the erector spinae and multifidus muscles were measured in the prone position. The data were analyzed using the SPSS ver 21.0 statistical program. The difference in thickness between the right and left sides of the trunk muscle was analyzed by repeated measures analysis. The statistical significance level was set to p<0.05.RESULTS: The results showed that the slashpipe exercise reduced significantly the difference in thickness of the oblique internus and erector spinae muscles compared to the weight bar exercise.CONCLUSION: The chaotic fluidity of the fluid filled inside the slashpipe could be used as sensory feedback information on body mal-alignment, which would have positively affected the symmetrical contraction of the trunk muscles as a trigger for self-correction. Therefore, it will have a useful effect not only on the health of the general public, but also on low back patients and athletes with muscle asymmetry.

Ultrasonic transducers for medical diagnostic imaging

Over the past decades, ultrasound imaging technology has made tremendous progress in obtaining important diagnostic information from patients in a rapid, noninvasive manner. Although the technology has benefited from sophisticated signal processing technology and imaging system integration, much of this progress has been derived from the development of ultrasonic transducers that are in direct contact with patients. An overview of medical ultrasonic imaging transducers is presented in this review that describes their structure, types, and application fields. The structural components of a typical transducer are presented in detail including an active layer, acoustic matching layers, a backing block, an acoustic lens, and kerfs. The types of transducers are classified according to the dimensions of ultrasound images: one-dimensional array, mechanical wobbling, and two-dimensional array transducers. Advantages of each transducer over the other and the technical issues for further performance enhancement are described. Application of the transducers to various clinical imaging fields is also reviewed.

Design and implementation of sitting posture fixation device for baby hip ultrasonic screening / 医疗卫生装备

Objective To design a sitting posture fixation device for the ultrasonic imaging of baby hip joint dysplasia.Methods The device was composed of a riser,a fixation base,No.1 holding plate,No.2 holding plate,a baby fixation plate and two detection windows.The two holding plates made the baby's spine and femurs form a right angle at the sitting posture,so that the standard posture was obtained for hip joint ultrasonic imaging.The detection windows facilitated to gain the optimal image for the both sides of the hip joint.Results The device contributed to acquiring baby hip joint image rapidly with high quality and decreased examination time.Conclusion The device can be used for the massive screening of developmental hip joint abnormality.

Tree-Augmented NaÏve Bayesian network model for predicting prostate cancer / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To evaluate the integrated performance of age, serum PSA, and transrectal ultrasound images in the prediction of prostate cancer using a Tree-Augmented NaÏve (TAN) Bayesian network model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We collected such data as age, serum PSA, transrectal ultrasound findings, and pathological diagnoses from 941 male patients who underwent prostate biopsy from January 2008 to September 2011. Using a TAN Bayesian network model, we analyzed the data for predicting prostate cancer, and compared them with the gold standards of pathological diagnosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive prediction rate, and negative prediction rate of the TAN Bayesian network model were 85.11%, 88.37%, 83.67%, 70.37%, and 94.25%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Based on age, serum PSA, and transrectal ultrasound images, the TAN Bayesian network model has a high value for the prediction of prostate cancer, and can help improve the clinical screening and diagnosis of the disease.</p>

Comparison ultrasound localization method with traditional touch method on radial artery cannulation in infants / 临床麻醉学杂志

Objective To explore the effect on ultrasound localization method with radial artery cannulation in infants.Methods Sixty infants (1 month-1year old)undergoing elective surgical proce-dures required artery pressure,were randomly divided into two groups:ultrasound localization group (group B):the infants were used of portable B ultrasound probe in the wrist with two dimensional ul-trasound image to determine the body position of the radial artery;control group (group C):tradi-tional palpation determine the radial artery puncture position.One puncture success rate,total punc-ture success rate,the period of puncture time and incidence of complications were recorded;MAP, the radial artery diameter,the vertical distance from the ultrasound probe to the skin and the length from the puncture spot to the radial artery were also measured.Results The success rate of first puncture in group B was higher than that of group C (P <0.05),the times of puncture and procedure time were significantly less than those of group C (P <0.05),the incidence of hematoma was lower than that in group C (P <0.05).Conclusion The application of ultrasound-guided method for radial artery cannulation is safe and reliable with accurate localization,highly successful rate of puncture at first time,lower complication and shorter time for placement.

The effects of local anesthetic distribution on symptoms using ultrasound image after stellate ganglion block / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of local anesthetic distribution on symptoms using ultrasound image after C6 stellate ganglion block (SGB). METHODS: Twenty-six patients underwent SGB via an anterior paratracheal approach at the sixth cervical level using 6 ml of 1% mepivacaine. We divided the patients into two groups by local anesthetic distribution using ultrasound image after SGB. In the group 'sub', injected local anesthetic was beneath the prevertebral fascia. In the group 'supra', some of injected local anesthetic was above the prevertebral fascia. The occurrence of Horner's syndrome, warm sensation on the face and hand, brachial plexus block, hoarseness, and foreign body sensation in the throat were evaluated. The skin temperature of the bilateral thumbs was measured pre and post SGB. RESULTS: The occurrence of hoarseness and the foreign body sensation in the throat was significantly reduced in the group 'sub' than the group 'supra' (P<0.05). The skin temperature of the ipsilateral thumb significantly increased in both groups compared to the pre SGB values, and the change of the skin temperature significantly increased in the group 'sub' than the group 'supra' (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Subfascial distribution of local anesthetic under ultrasound image after SGB reduces the typical complications. It is more effective in the sympathetic block than suprafascial distribution.

Application of computer to medical ultrasound images / 医疗卫生装备

This paper introduces the application of computer to medical ultrasound images in which the processing of medical ultrasound images and picture archiving and communication system(PACS) are involved in.

Method for computerized 3D reconstruction of eyeball ultrasonograph / 医疗卫生装备

This paper describes an algorithm of extracting location information in 2D eyeball ultrasound slices. The relative position of eyeball slices is adjusted based on the correlation between the slices. Some middle slices are added with elastic matching-based interpolation algorithm. Then ray-casting algorithm for volume rendering is used to reconstruct 3D image of the eyeball.

Image analysis of ultrasonography on the liver of schistosomi-asis japonica / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To explore the classification of ultrasound images of hepatic parenchyma of schistosomiasis japonica. Methods A total of 2 918 hepatic photographs were selected and classified . All the photographs came from the former research project, which had B ultrasonography examination for residents from three medium endemic villages adjacent to the Dongting Lake,such as Huarong, Hanshou, Lixian, and for advanced schistosomiasis patients in Xiangyue hospital. Results For these hepatic parenchyma images there were five types, including normal echogenic dots (91 photographs), widened echogenic dots (1 757 photographs), echogenic paths(121 photographs), e-chogenic strips (467 photographs) and echogenic bands (482 photographs), etc. , and eight patterns, including nomal echogenic dots (91 photographs), widened echogenic dots (1 757 photographs), echogenic slices (59 photographs), echogenic patches (62 photographs), fine strips (323 photographs), coarse strips (144 photographs), narrow reticular(280 photographs) and wide reticular (202 photographs). Conclusion B ultrasonic images of the liver of schistosomiasis japonica can be classified into five types and eight patterns.