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.
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Generally, radiologists analyse the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) by visual inspection to detect and identify the presence of tumour or abnormal tissue in brain MR images. The huge number of such MR images makes this visual interpretation process, not only laborious and expensive but often erroneous. Furthermore, the human eye and brain sensitivity to elucidate such images gets reduced with the increase of number of cases, especially when only some slices contain information of the affected area. Therefore, an automated system for the analysis and classification of MR images is mandatory. In this paper, we propose a new method for abnormality detection from T1-Weighted MRI of human head scans using three planes, including axial plane, co
... Show MoreThe influence of an aortic aneurysm on blood flow waveforms is well established, but how to exploit this link for diagnostic purposes still remains challenging. This work uses a combination of experimental and computational modelling to study how aneurysms of various size affect the waveforms. Experimental studies are carried out on fusiform-type aneurysm models, and a comparison of results with those from a one-dimensional fluid–structure interaction model shows close agreement. Further mathematical analysis of these results allows the definition of several indicators that characterize the impact of an aneurysm on waveforms. These indicators are then further studied in a computational model of a systemic blood flow network. This demonstr
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The research aimed to prepare a measure to evaluate the academic achievement of graduates working in the field of physical education from their point of view, to identify the extent to which graduating students benefit from the curriculum of the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Baghdad/Al-Jadriya, and to identify the impact of academic subjects in the practical and theoretical fields. The researchers used the descriptive approach in the research procedures as it is an appropriate approach in achieving the research objectives. The following questions are: What are the academic subjects that have the most impact on graduating students? What are the academic subjects that have the least impact on the are
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The present work provides theoretical investigation of laser photoacoustic one dimensional imaging to detect a blood vessel or tumor embedded within normal tissue. The key task in photoacoustic imaging is to have acoustic signal that help to determine the size and location of the target object inside normal tissue. The analytical simulation used a spherical wave model representing target object (blood vessel or tumor) inside normal tissue. A computer program in MATLAB environment has been written to realize this simulation. This model generates time resolved acoustic wave signal that include both expansion and contraction parts of the wave. The photoacoustic signal from the target object is simulated for a range of laser pulse duration 1
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The present work describes guggul as a novel carrier for some anti-inflammatory drugs. Guggulusomes containing different concentration of guggul with aceclofenac were prepared by sonication method and characterized for vesicle shape, size, size-distribution, pH, viscosity, spread ability, homogeneity, and accelerated stability in-vitro drug permeation through mouse skin. The vesicles exhibited an entrapment efficiency of 93.2 ± 12%, vesicle size of 0.769 ± 3μm and a zeta potential of - 6.21mV. In vitro drug release was analyzed using Franz’s diffusion cells. The cumulative release of the guggulusomes gel (G2) was 75.8% in 18 hrs, which is greater than that all the gel formulation. The stability profile of prepare
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The study aims to build a water quality index that fits the Iraqi aquatic systems and reflects the environmental reality of Iraqi water. The developed Iraqi Water Quality Index (IQWQI) includes physical and chemical components. To build the IQWQI, Delphi method was used to communicate with local and global experts in water quality indices for their opinion regarding the best and most important parameter we can use in building the index and the established weight of each parameter. From the data obtained in this study, 70% were used for building the model and 30% for evaluating the model. Multiple scenarios were applied to the model inputs to study the effects of increasing parameters. The model was built 4 by 4 until it reached 17 parame
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