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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

TH-CD-206-07: Determination of Patient-Specific Myocardial Mass at Risk Using Computed Tomography Angiography

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of a patient-specific coronary perfusion territory assignment algorithm that uses CT angiography (CTA) and a minimum-cost-path approach to assign coronary perfusion territories on a voxel-by-voxel basis for determination of myocardial mass at risk. Methods: Intravenous (IV) contrast (370 mg/mL iodine, 25 mL, 7 mL/s) was injected centrally into five swine (35–45 kg) and CTA was performed using a 320-slice CT scanner at 100 kVp and 200 mA. Additionally, a 4F catheter was advanced into the left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCX), and right coronary artery (RCA) and contrast (30 mg/mL iodine, 10 mL, 1.5 mL/s) was directly injected into each coronary artery for isolation of reference coronary perfusion territories. Semiautomatic myocardial segmentation of the CTA data was then performed and the centerlines of the LAD, LCX, and RCA were digitally extracted through image processing. Individual coronary perfusion territories were then assigned using a minimum-cost-path approach, and were quantitatively compared to the reference coronary perfusion territories. Results: The results of the coronary perfusion territory assignment algorithm were in good agreement with the reference coronary perfusion territories. The average volumetric assignment error from mitral orifice to apex was 5.5 ± 1.1%, corresponding to 2.1 ± 0.7 grams of myocardial mass misassigned for each coronary perfusion territory. Conclusion: The results indicate that accurate coronary perfusion territory assignment is possible on a voxel-by-voxel basis using CTA data and an assignment algorithm based on a minimum-cost-path approach. Thus, the technique can potentially be used to accurately determine patient-specific myocardial mass at risk distal to a coronary stenosis, improving coronary lesion assessment and treatment. Conflict of Interest (only if applicable): Grant funding from Toshiba America Medical Systems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of hypergravity on adipose-derived stem cell morphology, mechanical property and proliferation

Alteration in specific inertial conditions can lead to changes in morphology, proliferation, mechanical properties and cytoskeleton of cells. In this report, the effects of hypergravity on morphology of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) are indicated. ADSCs were repeatedly exposed to discontinuous hypergravity conditions of 10 g, 20 g, 40 g and 60 g by utilizing centrifuge (three times of 20 min exposure, with an interval of 40 min at 1 g). Cell morphology in terms of length, width and cell elongation index and cytoskeleton of actin filaments and microtubules were analyzed by image processing. Consistent changes observed in cell elongation index as morphological change. Moreover, cell proliferation was assessed and mechanical properties of cells in case of elastic modulus of cells were evaluated by Atomic Force Microscopy. Increase in proliferation and decrease in elastic modulus of cells are further results of this study. Staining ADSC was done to show changes in cytoskeleton of the cells associated to hypergravity condition specifically in microfilament and microtubule components. After exposing to hypergravity, significant changes were observed in microfilaments and microtubule density as components of cytoskeleton. It was concluded that there could be a relationship between changes in morphology and MFs as the main component of the cells. - Highlights: • Hypergravity (10 g, 20 g, 40 g and 60 g) affects on adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs). • ADSCs after exposure to the hypergravity are more slender. • The height of ADSCs increases in all test groups comparing their control group. • Hypergravity decreases ADSCs modulus of elasticity and cell actin fiber content. • Hypergravity enhances proliferation rate of ADSCs.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Physical and mechanical metallurgy of zirconium alloys for nuclear applications: a multi-scale computational study

In the post-Fukushima world, the stability of materials under extreme conditions is an important issue for the safety of nuclear reactors. Because the nuclear industry is going to continue using advanced zirconium cladding materials in the foreseeable future, it become critical to gain fundamental understanding of the several interconnected problems. First, what are the thermodynamic and kinetic factors affecting the oxidation and hydrogen pick-up by these materials at normal, off-normal conditions, and in long-term storage? Secondly, what protective coatings (if any) could be used in order to gain extremely valuable time at off-normal conditions, e.g., when temperature exceeds the critical value of 2200°F? Thirdly, the kinetics of oxidation of such protective coating or braiding needs to be quantified. Lastly, even if some degree of success is achieved along this path, it is absolutely critical to have automated inspection algorithms allowing identifying defects of cladding as soon as possible. This work strives to explore these interconnected factors from the most advanced computational perspective, utilizing such modern techniques as first-principles atomistic simulations, computational thermodynamics of materials, diffusion modeling, and the morphological algorithms of image processing for defect identification. Consequently, it consists of the four parts dealing with these four problem areas preceded by the introduction and formulation of the studied problems. In the 1st part an effort was made to employ computational thermodynamics and ab initio calculations to shed light upon the different stages of oxidation of ziraloys (2 and 4), the role of microstructure optimization in increasing their thermal stability, and the process of hydrogen pick-up, both in normal working conditions and in long-term storage. The 2nd part deals with the need to understand the influence and respective roles of the two different plasticity mechanisms in Zr nuclear alloys: twinning (at low T) and crystallographic slip (higher T’s). For that goal, a description of the advanced plasticity model is outlined featuring the non-associated flow rule in hcp materials including Zr. The 3rd part describes the kinetic theory of oxidation of the several materials considered to be perspective coating materials for Zr alloys: SiC and ZrSiO 4 . In the 4th part novel and advanced projectional algorithms for defect identification in zircaloy coatings are described. In so doing, the author capitalized on some 12 years of his applied industrial research in this area. Our conclusions and recommendations are presented in the 5th part of this work, along with the list of used literature and the scripts for atomistic, thermodynamic, kinetic, and morphological computations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-J-146: A Research of PET-CT SUV Range for the Online Dose Verification in Carbon Ion Radiation Therapy

Purpose: Positron-emitting isotope distributions can be used for the image fusion of the carbon ion planning CT and online target verification PETCT, after radiation in the same decay period,the relationship between the same target volume and the SUV value of different every single fraction dose can be found,then the range of SUV for the radiation target could be decided.So this online range also can provide reference for the correlation and consistency in planning target dose verification and evaluation for the clinical trial. Methods: The Rando head phantom can be used as real body,the 10cc cube volume target contouring is done,beam ISO Center depth is 7.6cm and the 90 degree fixed carbon ion beams should be delivered in single fraction effective dose of 2.5GyE,5GyE and 8GyE.After irradiation,390 seconds later the 30 minutes PET-CT scanning is performed,parameters are set to 50Kg virtual weight,0.05mCi activity.MIM Maestro is used for the image processing and fusion,five 16mm diameter SUV spheres have been chosen in the different direction in the target.The average SUV in target for different fraction dose can be found by software. Results: For 10cc volume target,390 seconds decay period,the Single fraction effective dose equal to 2.5Gy,Ethe SUV mean value is 3.42,the relative range is 1.72 to 6.83;Equal to 5GyE,SUV mean value is 9.946,the relative range is 7.016 to 12.54;Equal or above to 8GyE,SUV mean value is 20.496,the relative range is 11.16 to 34.73. Conclusion: Making an evaluation for accuracy of the dose distribution using the SUV range which is from the planning CT with after treatment online PET-CT fusion for the normal single fraction carbon ion treatment is available.Even to the plan which single fraction dose is above 2GyE,in the condition of other parameters all the same,the SUV range is linearly dependent with single fraction dose,so this method also can be used in the hyper-fraction treatment plan.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-435: Development and Commissioning of a Complete System for In-Vivo Dosimetry and Range Verification in Proton Therapy

Purpose: In-vivo dose and beam range verification in proton therapy could play significant roles in proton treatment validation and improvements. Invivo beam range verification, in particular, could enable new treatment techniques one of which, for example, could be the use of anterior fields for prostate treatment instead of opposed lateral fields as in current practice. We have developed and commissioned an integrated system with hardware, software and workflow protocols, to provide a complete solution, simultaneously for both in-vivo dosimetry and range verification for proton therapy. Methods: The system uses a matrix of diodes, up to 12 in total, but separable into three groups for flexibility in application. A special amplifier was developed to capture extremely small signals from very low proton beam current. The software was developed within iMagX, a general platform for image processing in radiation therapy applications. The range determination exploits the inherent relationship between the internal range modulation clock of the proton therapy system and the radiological depth at the point of measurement. The commissioning of the system, for in-vivo dosimetry and for range verification was separately conducted using anthropomorphic phantom. EBT films and TLDs were used for dose comparisons and range scan of the beam distal fall-off was used as ground truth for range verification. Results: For in-vivo dose measurement, the results were in agreement with TLD and EBT films and were within 3% from treatment planning calculations. For range verification, a precision of 0.5mm is achieved in homogeneous phantoms, and a precision of 2mm for anthropomorphic pelvic phantom, except at points with significant range mixing. Conclusion: We completed the commissioning of our system for in-vivo dosimetry and range verification in proton therapy. The results suggest that the system is ready for clinical trials on patient.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Time-and-space resolved comparison of plasma expansion velocities in high-power diodes with velvet cathodes

Time-and-space resolved comparison of the expansion velocities of plasmas in the planar diode with cathodes made of carbon velvet and polymer velvet has been performed. The diode was powered by a 200 kV, 110 ns pulse, and the peak current density was nearly 477 A/cm{sup 2}. A four-channel high speed framing camera (HSFC) was used to observe the formation and subsequent movement of the cathode plasmas. More accurate and valuable information about the two-dimensional (radial and axial) velocity components of the cathode plasmas was also acquired by utilizing the digital image processing methods. Additionally, the perveance model based on the Child-Langmuir law was used to calculate the expansion velocities of the diode plasmas from voltage and current profiles. Results from the two diagnostics were compared. Comparing the average values of the radial and axial velocity components indicated that the former was much larger than the latter during the initial period of the current. It was also found that the radial velocity of the carbon velvet cathode (190 cm/{mu}s) was much larger than that (90 cm/{mu}s) of the polymer velvet cathode. Moreover, the average values of both the radial and axial velocity components of the carbon velvet cathode were typically in the range of 2.5 {+-} 1.5 cm/{mu}s, which were smaller than that of the polymer velvet cathode during the current flattop. These results, together with the comparison of calculated values from the perveance model, indicated that the diode with carbon velvet cathode was more robust as compared with the polymer velvet cathode for the same electron current densities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of interfacial transition zone on the Young's modulus of carbon nanofiber reinforced cement concrete

Identifying the properties of the region where the cement paste meets the aggregate surface (interfacial transition zone, ITZ) is critical to understanding the strength and fracture behavior of carbon nanofiber (CNF) reinforced cement concrete. In this study, the finite element method is employed to investigate the effect of the ITZ on the Young's modulus of cement concrete made with CNF. The numerical models for cement concrete with and without CNF are constructed based on the digital image processing technique. To consider the interface effect, the concept of ''effective aggregate'' is put forward, namely, the Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio for each aggregate particle are replaced by an effective Young's modulus and effective Poisson's ratio, in which the effect of thickness and the Young's modulus of ITZ is taken into account in an averaged manner. Then, the quantitative nanomechanical mapping (based on atomic force microscopy) technique is adopted to measure the Young's modulus and thickness of ITZ with and without CNFs, which are further used as the input parameters in the numerical model. The numerical simulation results are verified by experimental testing, which indicates that the ITZ effect should be considered when implementing the numerical simulation. In addition, this analysis shows that compared with the plain cement concrete, CNFs can greatly enhance the mechanical properties of ITZ, which will in turn improve the Young's modulus of cement concrete significantly. Finally, the effect of thickness and Young's modulus of ITZ on the Young's modulus of CNF reinforced cement concrete is also discussed.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Task-based detectability in CT image reconstruction by filtered backprojection and penalized likelihood estimation

Purpose: Nonstationarity is an important aspect of imaging performance in CT and cone-beam CT (CBCT), especially for systems employing iterative reconstruction. This work presents a theoretical framework for both filtered-backprojection (FBP) and penalized-likelihood (PL) reconstruction that includes explicit descriptions of nonstationary noise, spatial resolution, and task-based detectability index. Potential utility of the model was demonstrated in the optimal selection of regularization parameters in PL reconstruction. Methods: Analytical models for local modulation transfer function (MTF) and noise-power spectrum (NPS) were investigated for both FBP and PL reconstruction, including explicit dependence on the object and spatial location. For FBP, a cascaded systems analysis framework was adapted to account for nonstationarity by separately calculating fluence and system gains for each ray passing through any given voxel. For PL, the point-spread function and covariance were derived using the implicit function theorem and first-order Taylor expansion according toFessler [“Mean and variance of implicitly defined biased estimators (such as penalized maximum likelihood): Applications to tomography,” IEEE Trans. Image Process. 5(3), 493–506 (1996)]. Detectability index was calculated for a variety of simple tasks. The model for PL was used in selecting the regularization strength parameter to optimize task-based performance, with both a constant and a spatially varying regularization map. Results: Theoretical models of FBP and PL were validated in 2D simulated fan-beam data and found to yield accurate predictions of local MTF and NPS as a function of the object and the spatial location. The NPS for both FBP and PL exhibit similar anisotropic nature depending on the pathlength (and therefore, the object and spatial location within the object) traversed by each ray, with the PL NPS experiencing greater smoothing along directions with higher noise. The MTF of FBP is isotropic and independent of location to a first order approximation, whereas the MTF of PL is anisotropic in a manner complementary to the NPS. Task-based detectability demonstrates dependence on the task, object, spatial location, and smoothing parameters. A spatially varying regularization “map” designed from locally optimal regularization can improve overall detectability beyond that achievable with the commonly used constant regularization parameter. Conclusions: Analytical models for task-based FBP and PL reconstruction are predictive of nonstationary noise and resolution characteristics, providing a valuable framework for understanding and optimizing system performance in CT and CBCT.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Hard Disk/Solid State Drive Synergy in Support of Data-Intensive Computing [Slides]

Data-intensive applications are becoming increasingly common in high-performance computing. Examples include combustion simulation, human genome analysis, and satellite image processing. Efficient access of data sets is critical to the performance of these applications. Because of the size of the data today's economically feasible approach is to store the data files on an array of hard disks or data servers equipped with hard disks and managed by a parallel file system such as PVFS or Lustre wherein the data is striped over a (large) number of disks for high aggregate I/O throughout. With file striping, a request for a segment of logically contiguous file space is decomposed into multiple sub-requests, each to a different server. While the data unit for this striping is usually reasonably large to benefit disk efficiency, the first and/or last sub-requests can be much smaller than the striping unit if the request does not align with the striping pattern, severely compromising hard disk efficiency and thus application performance. We propose to exploit solid state drives (SSD), whose efficiency is much less sensitive to small random accesses, to enable the alignment of requests to disk with the data striping pattern. In this scheme hard disks mainly serve large, aligned, sequential requests, with SSDs serving small or unaligned requests, thus respecting the relative cost, performance, and durability characteristics of the two media, and thereby achieving synergy in performance/cost. We will describe the design of the proposed scheme, its implementation on CCS-7's Darwin cluster, and performance results.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Four-Dimensional Dose Reconstruction for Scanned Proton Therapy Using Liver 4DCT-MRI

Purpose: Four-dimensional computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (4DCT-MRI) is an image-processing technique for simulating many 4DCT data sets from a static reference CT and motions extracted from 4DMRI studies performed using either volunteers or patients. In this work, different motion extraction approaches were tested using 6 liver cases, and a detailed comparison between 4DCT-MRI and 4DCT was performed. Methods and Materials: 4DCT-MRI has been generated using 2 approaches. The first approach used motion extracted from 4DMRI as being “most similar” to that of 4DCT from the same patient (subject-specific), and the second approach used the most similar motion obtained from a motion library derived from 4DMRI liver studies of 13 healthy volunteers (population-based). The resulting 4DCT-MRI and 4DCTs were compared using scanned proton 4D dose calculations (4DDC). Results: Dosimetric analysis showed that 93% ± 8% of points inside the clinical target volume (CTV) agreed between 4DCT and subject-specific 4DCT-MRI (gamma analysis: 3%/3 mm). The population-based approach however showed lower dosimetric agreement with only 79% ± 14% points in the CTV reaching the 3%/3 mm criteria. Conclusions: 4D CT-MRI extends the capabilities of motion modeling for dose calculations by accounting for realistic and variable motion patterns, which can be directly employed in clinical research studies. We have found that the subject-specific liver modeling appears more accurate than the population-based approach. The former is particularly interesting for clinical applications, such as improved target delineation and 4D dose reconstruction for patient-specific QA to allow for inter- and/or intra-fractional plan corrections.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2013

A COMBINED VERY LARGE TELESCOPE AND GEMINI STUDY OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE DIRECTLY IMAGED PLANET, β PICTORIS b

We analyze new/archival VLT/NaCo and Gemini/NICI high-contrast imaging of the young, self-luminous planet β Pictoris b in seven near-to-mid IR photometric filters, using advanced image processing methods to achieve high signal-to-noise, high precision measurements. While β Pic b's near-IR colors mimic those of a standard, cloudy early-to-mid L dwarf, it is overluminous in the mid-infrared compared to the field L/T dwarf sequence. Few substellar/planet-mass objects—i.e., κ And b and 1RXJ 1609B—match β Pic b's JHK{sub s}L' photometry and its 3.1 μm and 5 μm photometry are particularly difficult to reproduce. Atmosphere models adopting cloud prescriptions and large (∼60 μm) dust grains fail to reproduce the β Pic b spectrum. However, models incorporating thick clouds similar to those found for HR 8799 bcde, but also with small (a few microns) modal particle sizes, yield fits consistent with the data within the uncertainties. Assuming solar abundance models, thick clouds, and small dust particles ((a) = 4 μm), we derive atmosphere parameters of log (g) = 3.8 ± 0.2 and T{sub eff} = 1575-1650 K, an inferred mass of 7{sup +4}{sub -3} M{sub J} , and a luminosity of log(L/L{sub ☉}) ∼–3.80 ± 0.02. The best-estimated planet radius, ≈1.65 ± 0.06 R{sub J} , is near the upper end of allowable planet radii for hot-start models given the host star's age and likely reflects challenges constructing accurate atmospheric models. Alternatively, these radii are comfortably consistent with hot-start model predictions if β Pic b is younger than ≈7 Myr, consistent with a late formation well after its host star's birth ∼12{sup +8}{sub -4} Myr ago.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE EXPANSION OF ACTIVE REGIONS INTO THE EXTENDED SOLAR CORONA

Advanced image processing of Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) C2 observations reveals the expansion of the active region closed field into the extended corona. The nested closed-loop systems are large, with an apparent latitudinal extent of 50 Degree-Sign , and expanding to heights of at least 12 R{sub Sun }. The expansion speeds are {approx}10 km s{sup -1} in the AIA/SDO field of view, below {approx}20 km s{sup -1} at 2.3 R{sub Sun }, and accelerate linearly to {approx}60 km s{sup -1} at 5 R{sub Sun }. They appear with a frequency of one every {approx}3 hr over a time period of around three days. They are not coronal mass ejections (CMEs) since their gradual expansion is continuous and steady. They are also faint, with an upper limit of 3% of the brightness of background streamers. Extreme ultraviolet images reveal continuous birth and expansion of hot, bright loops from a new active region at the base of the system. The LASCO images show that the loops span a radial fan-like system of streamers, suggesting that they are not propagating within the main coronal streamer structure. The expanding loops brighten at low heights a few hours prior to a CME eruption, and the expansion process is temporarily halted as the closed field system is swept away. Closed magnetic structures from some active regions are not isolated from the extended corona and solar wind, but can expand to large heights in the form of quiescent expanding loops.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Online Image-based Monitoring of Soft-tissue Displacements for Radiation Therapy of the Prostate

Purpose: Emerging prolonged, hypofractionated radiotherapy regimens rely on high-dose conformality to minimize toxicity and thus can benefit from image guidance systems that continuously monitor target position during beam delivery. To address this need we previously developed, as a potential add-on device for existing linear accelerators, a novel telerobotic ultrasound system capable of real-time, soft-tissue imaging. Expanding on this capability, the aim of this work was to develop and characterize an image-based technique for real-time detection of prostate displacements. Methods and Materials: Image processing techniques were implemented on spatially localized ultrasound images to generate two parameters representing prostate displacements in real time. In a phantom and five volunteers, soft-tissue targets were continuously imaged with a customized robotic manipulator while recording the two tissue displacement parameters (TDPs). Variations of the TDPs in the absence of tissue displacements were evaluated, as was the sensitivity of the TDPs to prostate translations and rotations. Robustness of the approach to probe force was also investigated. Results: With 95% confidence, the proposed method detected in vivo prostate displacements before they exceeded 2.3, 2.5, and 2.8 mm in anteroposterior, superoinferior, and mediolateral directions. Prostate pitch was detected before exceeding 4.7 Degree-Sign at 95% confidence. Total system time lag averaged 173 ms, mostly limited by ultrasound acquisition rate. False positives (FPs) (FP) in the absence of displacements did not exceed 1.5 FP events per 10 min of continuous in vivo imaging time. Conclusions: The feasibility of using telerobotic ultrasound for real-time, soft-tissue-based monitoring of target displacements was confirmed in vivo. Such monitoring has the potential to detect small clinically relevant intrafractional variations of the prostate position during beam delivery.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spatiotemporal characterization of cerium monoxide in laser ablation plasmas using spectrally-resolved fast-gated imaging

The impact of oxidation chemistry on the emission characteristics and spatial structure of laser-produced Ce metal plasmas was investigated using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and time-resolved fast-gated imaging employing narrowband optical filters. Images of the plasma emission show that CeO coexists with atomic species in the periphery and vortex ring of the plasma plume. Image processing was also applied to combine independent monochromatic images of the plasma emission into a single merged image, culminating in a timelapse on the spatiotemporal evolution of atomic and molecular species within the plasma plume. The formation of CeO species was observed to proceed faster for plasmas generated in atmospheres containing larger concentrations of oxygen based on ratios of CeO-to-atomic emission intensities. Furthermore, these same ratios were shown to plateau and decrease at later times (≥25 μs), potentially indicating the depletion of CeO number densities in the plasma as the monoxide undergoes reactions to form higher polyatomic oxides. Altogether, these results provide fundamental insights into the chemical dynamics and intermixing between plasma-gas species in laser ablation cerium plasmas, advancing our understanding on optical signatures of nuclear-relevant materials to enable in-field measurement capabilities.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

A comparative analysis of YOLOv8 and U-Net image segmentation approaches for transmission electron micrographs of polycrystalline thin films

Metallic thin films offer a platform to experimentally study the dynamics of microstructural evolution, but the required transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based imaging generates complex images that are challenging to segment and quantify. This work provides a comparative analysis of a new YOLOv8 model and an established U-Net model for bright-field TEM images of polycrystals, employing a framework leveraging physical observables to evaluate performance against two hand-traced benchmark datasets. This methodology obviates the comparison of large, diversely structured, and manually labeled datasets that are required to assess performance on a per-image/per-pixel basis. It is found that the YOLOv8 model, adapted for real-time instance segmentation, has up to 43× faster inferencing (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090) compared to U-Net and reconstructs hand-traced grain size distributions (GSDs) with excellent fidelity, finding mean diameter within 3% for grains near an optimal magnification; for grains that deviate from the optimal pixel-diameter, the size of small- (large)-diameter grains is systematically over- (under)-estimated. This is partially mitigated by including scale-aware augmentations during training. Moreover, when the bias is corrected post-inference by a rigid shift in distribution, the YOLOv8 model reproduces ground truth GSDs with exceptional fidelity, with statistical tests indicating <5% probability that the distributions are distinct. Based on ground truth data, calibration curves pertaining to this shift can be constructed for a given model. This issue is not present in the U-Net model’s results, indicating that for quantitative measurements where the true size of objects is of interest, special procedures must be implemented for YOLO-based models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Estimation of the two-dimensional presampled modulation transfer function of digital radiography devices using one-dimensional test objects

Purpose: The modulation transfer function (MTF) of medical imaging devices is commonly reported in the form of orthogonal one-dimensional (1D) measurements made near the vertical and horizontal axes with a slit or edge test device. A more complete description is found by measuring the two-dimensional (2D) MTF. Some 2D test devices have been proposed, but there are some issues associated with their use: (1) they are not generally available; (2) they may require many images; (3) the results may have diminished accuracy; and (4) their implementation may be particularly cumbersome. This current work proposes the application of commonly available 1D test devices for practical and accurate estimation of the 2D presampled MTF of digital imaging systems. Methods: Theory was developed and applied to ensure adequate fine sampling of the system line spread function for 1D test devices at orientations other than approximately vertical and horizontal. Methods were also derived and tested for slit nonuniformity correction at arbitrary angle. Techniques were validated with experimental measurements at ten angles using an edge test object and three angles using a slit test device on an indirect-detection flat-panel system [GE Revolution XQ/i (GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI)]. The 2D MTF was estimated through a simple surface fit with interpolation based on Delaunay triangulation of the 1D edge-based MTF measurements. Validation by synthesis was also performed with simulated images from a hypothetical direct-detection flat-panel device. Results: The 2D MTF derived from physical measurements yielded an average relative precision error of 0.26% for frequencies below the cutoff (2.5 mm{sup -1}) and approximate circular symmetry at frequencies below 4 mm{sup -1}. While slit analysis generally agreed with the results of edge analysis, the two showed subtle differences at frequencies above 4 mm{sup -1}. Slit measurement near 45 Degree-Sign revealed radial asymmetry in the MTF resulting from the square pixel aperture (0.2 mm Multiplication-Sign 0.2 mm), a characteristic which was not necessarily appreciated with the orthogonal 1D MTF measurements. In simulation experiments, both slit- and edge-based measurements resolved the radial asymmetries in the 2D MTF. The average absolute relative accuracy error in the 2D MTF between the DC and cutoff (2.5 mm{sup -1}) frequencies was 0.13% with average relative precision error of 0.11%. Other simulation results were similar to those derived from physical data. Conclusions: Overall, the general availability, acceptance, accuracy, and ease of implementation of 1D test devices for MTF assessment make this a valuable technique for 2D MTF estimation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-J-116: Uncertainties Associated with Dose Summation of High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy and Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy for Gynecological Cases

Purpose: Determining the cumulative dose distribution (CDD) for gynecological patients treated with both high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is challenging. The purpose of this work is to study the uncertainty of performing this with a structure-guided deformable (SGD) approach in Velocity. Methods: For SGD, the Hounsfield units inside specified contours are overridden to set uniform values. Deformable image registration (DIR) is the run on these process images, which forces the DIR to focus on these contour boundaries. 18 gynecological cancer patients were used in this study. The original bladder and rectum planning contours for these patients were used to drive the SGD. A second set of contours were made of the bladder by the same person with the intent of carefully making them completely consistent with each other. This second set was utilized to evaluate the spatial accuracy of the SGD. The determined spatial accuracy was then multiplied by the local dose gradient to determine a dose uncertainty associated with the SGD dose warping. The normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) was then calculated for each dose volume histogram (DVH) that included four different probabilistic uncertainties associated with the spatial errors (e.g., 68.3% and 95.4%). Results: The NTCPs for each DVH (e.g., NTCP-−95.4%, NTCP-−68.3%, NTCP-68.3%, NTCP-95.4%) differed amongst patients. All patients had an NTCP-−95.4% close to 0%, while NTCP-95.4% ranged from 0.67% to 100%. Nine patients had an NTCP-−95.4% less than 50% while the remaining nine patients had NTCP-95.4% greater than 50%. Conclusion: The uncertainty associated with this CDD technique renders a large NTCP uncertainty. Thus, it is currently not practical for clinical use. The two ways to improve this would be to use more precise contours to drive the SGD and to use a more accurate DIR algorithm.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Machine learning technique to identify grains in polycrystalline materials samples

A method of identifying grains in polycrystalline materials, the method including (a) identifying local crystal structure of the polycrystalline material based on neighbor coordination or pattern recognition machine learning, the local crystal structure including grains and grain boundaries, (b) pre-processing the grains and the grain boundaries using image processing techniques, (c) conducting grain identification using unsupervised machine learning; and (d) refining a resolution of the grain boundaries.

Sankaranarayanan, Subramanian↗