Abstract
The European FP7 project DIANA has performed a coherent analysis of a large set of observational data of protoplanetary disks by means of thermo-chemical disk models. The collected data ...include extinction-corrected stellar UV and X-ray input spectra (as seen by the disk), photometric fluxes, low and high resolution spectra, interferometric data, emission line fluxes, line velocity profiles and line maps, which probe the dust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the gas in these objects. We define and apply a standardized modeling procedure to fit these data by state-of-the-art modeling codes (
ProDiMo
,
MCFOST
,
MCMax
), solving continuum and line radiative transfer (RT), disk chemistry, and the heating and cooling balance for both the gas and the dust. 3D diagnostic RT tools (e.g., FLiTs) are eventually used to predict all available observations from the same disk model, the DIANA-standard model. Our aim is to determine the physical parameters of the disks, such as total gas and dust masses, the dust properties, the disk shape, and the chemical structure in these disks. We allow for up to two radial disk zones to obtain our best-fitting models that have about 20 free parameters. This approach is novel and unique in its completeness and level of consistency. It allows us to break some of the degeneracies arising from pure Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) modeling. In this paper, we present the results from pure SED fitting for 27 objects and from the all inclusive DIANA-standard models for 14 objects. Our analysis shows a number of Herbig Ae and T Tauri stars with very cold and massive outer disks which are situated at least partly in the shadow of a tall and gas-rich inner disk. The disk masses derived are often in excess to previously published values, since these disks are partially optically thick even at millimeter wavelength and so cold that they emit less than in the Rayleigh–Jeans limit. We fit most infrared to millimeter emission line fluxes within a factor better than 3, simultaneously with SED, PAH features and radial brightness profiles extracted from images at various wavelengths. However, some line fluxes may deviate by a larger factor, and sometimes we find puzzling data which the models cannot reproduce. Some of these issues are probably caused by foreground cloud absorption or object variability. Our data collection, the fitted physical disk parameters as well as the full model output are available to the community through an online database (
http://www.univie.ac.at/diana
).
Phase retrieval is a technique for extracting quantitative phase information from X-ray propagation-based phase-contrast tomography (PPCT). In this paper, the performance of different single distance ...phase retrieval algorithms will be investigated. The algorithms are herein called phase-attenuation duality Born Algorithm (PAD-BA), phase-attenuation duality Rytov Algorithm (PAD-RA), phase-attenuation duality Modified Bronnikov Algorithm (PAD-MBA), phase-attenuation duality Paganin algorithm (PAD-PA) and phase-attenuation duality Wu Algorithm (PAD-WA), respectively. They are all based on phase-attenuation duality property and on weak absorption of the sample and they employ only a single distance PPCT data. In this paper, they are investigated via simulated noise-free PPCT data considering the fulfillment of PAD property and weakly absorbing conditions, and with experimental PPCT data of a mixture sample containing absorbing and weakly absorbing materials, and of a polymer sample considering different degrees of statistical and structural noise. The simulation shows all algorithms can quantitatively reconstruct the 3D refractive index of a quasi-homogeneous weakly absorbing object from noise-free PPCT data. When the weakly absorbing condition is violated, the PAD-RA and PAD-PA/WA obtain better result than PAD-BA and PAD-MBA that are shown in both simulation and mixture sample results. When considering the statistical noise, the contrast-to-noise ratio values decreases as the photon number is reduced. The structural noise study shows that the result is progressively corrupted by ring-like artifacts with the increase of structural noise (i.e. phantom thickness). The PAD-RA and PAD-PA/WA gain better density resolution than the PAD-BA and PAD-MBA in both statistical and structural noise study.
We present a multiaperture analyzer setup for performing x-ray phase contrast imaging in planar and three-dimensional modalities. The method is based on strongly structuring the x-ray beam with an ...amplitude modulator, before it reaches the sample, and on a multiaperture analyzing element before detection. A multislice representation of the sample is used to establish a quantitative relation between projection images and the corresponding three-dimensional distributions, leading to successful tomographic reconstruction. Sample absorption, phase, and scattering are retrieved from the measurement of five intensity projections. The method is tested on custom-built phantoms with synchrotron radiation: sample absorption and phase can be reliably retrieved also in combination with strong scatterers, simultaneously attaining high sensitivity and dynamic range.
Abstract
X-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) methods give access to contrast mechanisms that are based on the refractive properties of matter on top of the absorption coefficient in conventional ...x-ray imaging. Ultra small angle x-ray scattering (USAXS) is a phase contrast mechanism that arises due to multiple refraction events caused by physical features of a scale below the physical resolution of the used imaging system. USAXS contrast can therefore give insight into subresolution structural information, which is an ongoing research topic in the vast field of different XPCI techniques. In this study, we quantitatively compare the USAXS signal retrieved by the beam tracking XPCI technique with the gold standard of the analyzer based imaging XPCI technique using a synchrotron x-ray source. We find that, provided certain conditions are met, the two methods measure the same quantity.
To introduce the optimization of a customized GPU-based simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (cSART) in the field of phase-contrast breast computed tomography (bCT). The presented ...algorithm features a 3D bilateral regularization filter that can be tuned to yield optimal performance for clinical image visualization and tissues segmentation.
Acquisitions of a dedicated test object and a breast specimen were performed at Elettra, the Italian synchrotron radiation (SR) facility (Trieste, Italy) using a large area CdTe single-photon counting detector. Tomographic images were obtained at 5 mGy of mean glandular dose, with a 32 keV monochromatic x-ray beam in the free-space propagation mode. Three independent algorithms parameters were optimized by using contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), spatial resolution, and noise texture metrics. The results obtained with the cSART algorithm were compared with conventional SART and filtered back projection (FBP) reconstructions. Image segmentation was performed both with gray scale-based and supervised machine-learning approaches.
Compared to conventional FBP reconstructions, results indicate that the proposed algorithm can yield images with a higher CNR (by 35% or more), retaining a high spatial resolution while preserving their textural properties. Alternatively, at the cost of an increased image 'patchiness', the cSART can be tuned to achieve a high-quality tissue segmentation, suggesting the possibility of performing an accurate glandularity estimation potentially of use in the realization of realistic 3D breast models starting from low radiation dose images.
The study indicates that dedicated iterative reconstruction techniques could provide significant advantages in phase-contrast bCT imaging. The proposed algorithm offers great flexibility in terms of image reconstruction optimization, either toward diagnostic evaluation or image segmentation.
The aim of the SYRMA-CT collaboration is to set-up the first clinical trial of phase-contrast breast CT with synchrotron radiation (SR). In order to combine high image quality and low delivered dose ...a number of innovative elements are merged: a CdTe single photon counting detector, state-of-the-art CT reconstruction and phase retrieval algorithms. To facilitate an accurate exam optimization, a Monte Carlo model was developed for dose calculation using GEANT4. In this study, high isotropic spatial resolution (120 μm)3 CT scans of objects with dimensions and attenuation similar to a human breast were acquired, delivering mean glandular doses in the range of those delivered in clinical breast CT (5-25 mGy). Due to the spatial coherence of the SR beam and the long distance between sample and detector, the images contain, not only absorption, but also phase information from the samples. The application of a phase-retrieval procedure increases the contrast-to-noise ratio of the tomographic images, while the contrast remains almost constant. After applying the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique to low-dose phase-retrieved data sets (about 5 mGy) with a reduced number of projections, the spatial resolution was found to be equal to filtered back projection utilizing a four fold higher dose, while the contrast-to-noise ratio was reduced by 30%. These first results indicate the feasibility of clinical breast CT with SR.
Abstract
The PEPI project is developing a new experimental facility integrating a chromatic photon-counting detector within an edge-illumination (EI) phase-contrast setup. In this context, a novel ...Geant4-based simulation tool has been introduced with the aim of defining the optimal design of the experimental setup. The code includes a custom X-ray refraction process and allows simulating the whole EI system, comprising a polychromatic and extended source, absorbing masks, substrates, their movement during acquisition, and X-ray detection. In this paper, a realistic spectral detector model is introduced and its energy response validated against experimental data acquired with synchrotron radiation at energies between 26 and 50 keV. Moreover, refraction and transmission images of a plastic phantom are reconstructed from simulation data and successfully compared with theoretical predictions. Finally, an optimization study aiming at finding the effect of the X-ray focal spot size (i.e. spatial coherence) on image quality is presented; the results suggest that, in the considered configuration, the system can tolerate source sizes up to 30 μm, while, for a fixed exposure time, the best signal-to-noise ratio in refraction images is found for source sizes in the order of 10 to 15 μm.
Photon counting semiconductor detectors in radiation imaging present attractive properties, such as high efficiency, low noise, and energy sensitivity. The very complex electronics limits the ...sensitive area of current devices to a few square cm. This disadvantage is often compensated by tiling a larger matrix with an adequate number of detector units but this usually results in non-negligible insensitive gaps between two adjacent modules. When considering the case of Computed Tomography (CT), these gaps lead to degraded reconstructed images with severe streak and ring artifacts. This work presents two digital image processing solutions to fill in these gaps when considering the specific case of synchrotron radiation x-ray parallel beam phase contrast CT. While not discussed with experimental data, other CT modalities, such as spectral, cone beam and other geometries might benefit from the presented approaches.
In this paper, we aimed at methodologically presenting a video-case of Frey Syndrome occurred after parotidectomy, assessed by means of Minor's Test and treated with intradermic botulinum toxin A ...(BoNT-A) injection. Although largely described in the literature, a detailed explanation of both the procedures has not been previously elucidated. In a more original approach, we also highlighted the role of the Minor's test in identifying the most affected skin areas and new insight on the patient-tailored approach provided by multiple injections of botulinum toxin. Six months after the procedure, the patient's symptoms were resolved, and no evident signs of Frey syndrome were detectable through the Minor's test.
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