Introduction The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) is being developed to enhance the localisation of radiopharmaceutical uptake in targeted tissues during surgical procedures such as sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. Purpose To assess the capability of the HGC, a lymph-node-contrast (LNC) phantom was constructed for an evaluative study simulating medical scenarios of varying radioactivity concentration and SLN size. Materials and methods The phantom was constructed using two methyl methacrylate PMMA plates (8 mm thick). The SLNs were simulated by drilling circular wells of diameters ranging between 10 mm and 2.5 mm (16 wells in total) in one plate. These simulated SLNs were placed underneath scattering material with thicknesses ranging between 5 mm and 40 mm. The second plate contains four rectangular wells to simulate background activity uptake surrounding the SLNs. The activity used ranged between 4 MBq and 0.025 MBq for the SLNs. The background activity was 1/10 of the SLNs activity. The collimator to source distance was 120 mm. Results Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) analysis and spatial resolution measurements of the simulated SLN were used to compare the imaging sets over acquisition times ranging between 60s and 240s. The HGC successfully detected 87.5% to 100% of the SLNs through 20mm of scattering material, and it could detect 75% to 93.75% of the SLNs through 40mm of scattering material. Measurement of Full-Width-at-Half-Maximum (FWHM) for the detected SLNs ranged between 9.5 mm and 12 mm. Conclusion The HGC is capable of detecting low activity uptake in small SLNs indicating its usefulness as an intraoperative imaging system during surgical SLN procedures.
The searching process using a binary codebook of combined Block Truncation Coding (BTC) method and Vector Quantization (VQ), i.e. a full codebook search for each input image vector to find the best matched code word in the codebook, requires a long time. Therefore, in this paper, after designing a small binary codebook, we adopted a new method by rotating each binary code word in this codebook into 900 to 2700 step 900 directions. Then, we systematized each code word depending on its angle to involve four types of binary code books (i.e. Pour when , Flat when , Vertical when, or Zigzag). The proposed scheme was used for decreasing the time of the coding procedure, with very small distortion per block, by designing s
... Show MoreIn this paper, an analytical solution describing the deflection of a cracked beam repaired with piezoelectric patch is introduced. The solution is derived using perturbation method. A novel analytical model to calculate the proper dimensions of piezoelectric patches used to repair cracked beams is also introduced. This model shows that the thickness of the piezoelectric patch depends mainly on the thickness of the cracked beam, the electro-mechanical properties of the patch material, the applied load and the crack location. Furthermore, the model shows that the length of the piezoelectric patches depends on the thickness of the patch as well as it depends on the length of the cracked beam and the crack depth. The additional flexibil
... Show MoreIn this paper, an analytical solution describing the deflection of a cracked beam repaired with piezoelectric patch is introduced. The solution is derived using perturbation method. A novel analytical model to calculate the proper dimensions of piezoelectric patches used to repair cracked beams is also introduced. This model shows that the thickness of the piezoelectric patch depends mainly on the thickness of the cracked beam, the electro-mechanical properties of the patch material, the applied load and the crack location. Furthermore, the model shows that the length of the piezoelectric patches depends on the thickness of the patch as well as it depends on the length of the cracked beam and the crack depth. The additio
... Show MoreThe advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), within the previous decades, has significantly changed people’s transmit or store their information over the Internet or networks. So, one of the main challenges is to keep these information safe against attacks. Many researchers and institutions realized the importance and benefits of cryptography in achieving the efficiency and effectiveness of various aspects of secure communication.This work adopts a novel technique for secure data cryptosystem based on chaos theory. The proposed algorithm generate 2-Dimensional key matrix having the same dimensions of the original image that includes random numbers obtained from the 1-Dimensional logistic chaotic map for given con
... Show MoreThe study sought to identify the attitudes of PhD students towards establishing the field of educational administration. The study followed the descriptive survey method. The questionnaire was used to collect information from the study community consisting of (95) male and female students in the department of educational administration and Planning. Among the most important results about students ’attitudes towards establishing the educational administration field are the following: 1) identifying the necessity of establishing the educational administration field. 2) Encouraging students to attend seminars and scientific conferences in Islamic rooting. 3) there are no statistically significant differences in the attitudes of doctoral s
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Sought the search to find out what small businesses, the importance of funding, and the role of funders in supporting such projects, which have been addressed in the search through a sample of government banks (Rafidain and Rasheed) and private banks (the Middle East, the Gulf, North, Assyria) and a sample of Small projects borrowed from these banks, but in order to achieve that rely researchers on scientific methods discreet marked by the curriculum descriptive analytical method which is based on the compilation of facts and information then collated and analyzed to reach acceptable results, as well as data collection tool (checklist) was whereby examine questions of a sample of
... Show MoreThe influence of culture on accounting systems and practices, including financial reports and accounting information through the values identified by Gray and derived from social-cultural values, and the four accounting values were derived from generally accepted accounting principles represented by (Conservatism, Uniformity, Secrecy, and Professionalism). Important and significant in maximizing financial performance, and measuring the extent of the role of these values in improving financial performance through attention to the values of accounting culture, this research
... Show MoreThe aims of this study to diagnose the role of the (relationship and impact) Academic driving practices dimensions (model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, encourage the heart ) in the activation of human capital (investment and development) for (knowledge, skills, expertise, creative and training capabilities) in a sample of university professors in Baghdad city(Baghdad University, Al Mustansiriya University, University of Technology). (367 )samples were distributed to (232 at the University of Baghdad, 97 at Al-Mustansiriya University and 38 at the University of Technology). The goals of descriptive analytical method research have been used, questionnaire has been a main tool for dat
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