Objectives: Small field of view gamma detection and imaging technologies for monitoring in vivo tracer uptake are rapidly expanding and being introduced for bed-side imaging and image guided surgical procedures. The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) has been developed to enhance the localization of targeted radiopharmaceuticals during surgical procedures; for example in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies and for bed-side imaging in procedures such as lacrimal drainage imaging and thyroid scanning. In this study, a prototype anthropomorphic head and neck phantom has been designed, constructed, and evaluated using representative modelled medical scenarios to study the capability of the HGC to detect SLNs and image small organs. Methods: An anthropomorphic head and neck phantom has been designed to mimic the adult head and neck including some internal organs and tissues of interest, such as the thyroid gland and sentinel lymph nodes. The design of the head and neck phantom included an adjustable inner jig holding the simulated SLNs and thyroid gland. The simulated thyroid gland was designed and 3D printed taking into consideration the size and the shape of a healthy adult thyroid gland. The inner sealed space of the thyroid was filled with 15MBq of 99mTc through two upper filling valves. Sealed micro-tubes (0.2ml) have been employed to simulate SLNs containing various 99mTc activity concentrations ranging between 0.1MBq and 1MBq, and can be positioned at any desired place in the head and neck region. An active background was simulated through mixing 10MBq of 99mTc solution with the water used to fill the outer shell of the head and neck phantom. Results: The head and neck phantom was employed to simulate a situation where there are four SLNs distributed at two different vertical levels and at two depths within the neck. Contrast to noise ratio (CNR) calculations were performed for the detected SLNs at an 80mm distance between both pinhole collimators (i.e. 0.5mm and 1.0mm diameters) and the surface of the head and neck phantom with a 100s acquisition time. The recorded CNR values for the simulated SLNs are higher when the HGC was fitted with the 1.0mm diameter pinhole collimator. For instance, the recorded CNR values for the superficially simulated SLN containing 0.1MBq of 99mTc using 0.5mm and 1.0mm diameter pinhole collimators are 6.48 and 16.42, respectively (~87% difference). The anatomical context provided by the hybrid imaging aided the localization process of radioactivity accumulation in simulated SLNs. Gamma and hybrid optical images were acquired using the HGC with both available pinhole collimators for the simulated thyroid gland. The thyroid images produced varied in terms of spatial resolution and detectability. The count profiles through the middle of the simulated thyroid gland images provided by both pinhole collimators were obtained. The HGC could clearly differentiate the individual peaks of both thyroid lobes in the gamma image produced by the 0.5mm pinhole collimator. In contrast, the recorded count profile for the acquired image using the 1.0mm diameter pinhole collimator showed broader peaks for both lobes, reflecting the degradation of the spatial resolution with increasing the diameter of the pinhole collimator. Conclusion: The capability of the HGC has been evaluated utilizing a prototype anthropomorphic head and neck phantom, and the gamma and hybrid images obtained demonstrate that it is ideally suited for intraoperative SLNs detection and small organ imaging. The standardization of test phantoms and protocols for SFOV portable gamma systems will provide an opportunity to collect data across various medical centers and research groups. Moreover, it will provide a technical baseline for researchers and clinical practitioners to consider when assessing their SFOV gamma imaging systems. The anthropomorphic head and neck phantom described is cost effective, reproducible, flexible and anatomically representative.
This study deals with the role that social work profession plays in all its fields to reduce social extremismat home, or school or within society. The study aims to: examine the historical roots of social work in the Iraqi society, investigate the objectives of the developmental role of social work, review the theories of social extremism, its characteristics, and causes, and to analyze the developmental role of social work to limit social extremism. To meet the objectives of the study, a descriptive analytical approach has been adopted. It involves using the social sampling survey method, i.e., a questionnaire tool in the University of Baghdad community-College of Media. The sample was randomly selected to include (100) students from th
... Show MoreIn this work, two groups of nanocomposite material, was prepared from unsaturated polyester resin (UPE), they were prepared by hand lay-up method. The first group was consisting of (UPE) reinforced with individually (ZrO2) nanoparticles with particle size (47.23nm). The second group consists of (UPE) reinforced with hybrid nanoparticles consisting of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide (70% ZrO2 + 30% Y2O3) with particles size (83.98nm). This study includes the effect of selected volume fraction (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%) for both reinforcement nano materials. Experimental investigation was carried out by analyzing the thermo-physical properties like thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat for the polymeric composit
... Show MoreIn this work, measurements of activity concentration of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) isotopes and their related hazard indices for several materials such as crude oil, sludge and water in Ahdeb oil fields in Waste governorate using high pure germanium coaxial detection technique. The average values for crude oil samples were174.72Bq/l, 43.46Bq/l, 355.07Bq/l, 264.21Bq/l, 122.52nGy/h, 0.7138, 1.1861, 0.601 mSv/y, 0.1503mSv/y and 1.8361 for Ra-226, Ac-228, K-40, Ra eq, D, H-external and H-internal respectively. According to the results; the ratio between 238U to 232Th was 4, which represents the natural ratio in the crust earth; therefore, one can be strongly suggested that the geo-stricture of the
... Show MoreWhat concerns the research is employing the modern technology in a compatible way, because it has multiplied with the visual working functions and has grown in a special way with the development of the digital graphic design field which represents a crystallization product according to investigation and experimentation mechanism within the field of the scientific research in the design field and development of the skills of the first designing worker, who always seeks to find working and functional structures in order to produce a design with a clear meaning by utilizing the technological abilities including the acoustic tech
... Show MoreThrough this research, We have tried to evaluate the health programs and their effectiveness in improving the health situation through a study of the health institutions reality in Baghdad to identify the main reasons that affect the increase in maternal mortality by using two regression models, "Poisson's Regression Model" and "Hierarchical Poisson's Regression Model". And the study of that indicator (deaths) was through a comparison between the estimation methods of the used models. The "Maximum Likelihood" method was used to estimate the "Poisson's Regression Model"; whereas the "Full Maximum Likelihood" method were used for the "Hierarchical Poisson's Regression Model
... Show MoreThis study aims to identify both the importance of using (LinkedIn) and its drawbacks for researchers and specialists in the field of information and knowledge technologies. The study relied mainly on the statistical method (analytical method) from the collection of data tools (questionnaire) that was distributed electronically (Google Forms) to the sample community of (55) instructors. The feedback received illustrates that (46) instructors among those who participated in the questionnaire subscribed to (LinkedIn) and the rest did not. Their data was analyzed statistically, and the general arithmetic mean and the hypothetical mean was extracted for them to achieve the objectives of the study and prove their hypotheses. The site positively
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