Anisotropy of Trabecular Bone from Ultra-Distal Radius Digital X-Ray Imaging: Effects on Bone Mineral Density and Age

Background: When applied to trabecular bone X-ray images, the anisotropic properties of trabeculae located at ultra-distal radius were investigated by using the trabecular bone scores (TBS) calculated along directions parallel and perpendicular to the forearm. Methodology: Data from more than two hundred subjects were studied retrospectively. A DXA (GE Lunar Prodigy) scan of the forearm was performed on each subject to measure the bone mineral density (BMD) value at the location of ultra-distal radius, and an X-ray digital image of the same forearm was taken on the same day. The values of trabecular bone score along the direction perpendicular to the forearm, TBSx, and along the direction parallel to the forearm, TBSy, were calculated respectively. The statistics of TBSx and TBSy were calculated, and the anisotropy of the trabecular bone, which was defined as the ratio of TBSy to TBSx and changed with subjects’ BMD and age, was reported and analyzed. Results: The results show that the correlation coefficient between TBSx and TBSy was 0.72 (p BMD and age was reported. The results showed that decreased trabecular bone anisotropy was associated with deceased BMD and increased age in the subject group. Conclusions: This study shows that decreased trabecular bone anisotropy was associated with decreased BMD and increased age.

Imaging Analysis of Trabecular Bone Texture Based on the Initial Slope of Variogram of Ultra-Distal Radius Digital X-Ray Imaging: Effects on Bone Mineral Density and Age

Background: When applied to trabecular bone X-ray images, a method for analyzing trabecular bone texture based on the initial slope of variogram (ISV) was used to assess the trabecular bone health. Methodology: Data from more than two hundred subjects were retrospectively studied. For each subject, a DXA (GE Lunar Prodigy) scan of the forearm was performed, and bone mineral density (BMD) value was measured at the location of ultra-distal radius, X-ray digital image of the same forearm was taken on the same day, and ISV value over the same location of ultra-distal radius was calculated. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the correlation between BMD and ISV of the trabecular bones located at the same ultra-distal radius. ISV values changed with subjects’ age were also reported. Results: The results show that ISV value was highly correlated with the DXA-measured BMD of the same trabecular bone located at the ultra-distal radius. The correlation coefficient between ISV and BMD with the 95% confident was 0.79 ± 0.09. They also demonstrated that the age-related changes in trabecular bone health and differentiated age patterns in males and females, respectively. The results showed that the decrease in BMD was accompanied by a decrease in the initial slope of variogram (ISV). Conclusions: This study suggests that ISV might be used to quantitatively evaluate trabecular health for osteoporosis and bone disease diagnosis.

A cadaveric breast cancer tissue phantom for phase-contrast X-ray imaging applications

Background:As mammography X-ray imaging technologies advance and provide elevated contrast in soft tissues,a need has developed for reliable imaging phantoms for use in system design and component calibration.In advanced imaging modalities such as refraction-based methods,it is critical that developed phantoms capture the biological details seen in clinical precancerous and cancerous cases while minimizing artifacts that may be caused due to phantom production.This work presents the fabrication of a breast tissue imaging phantom from cadaveric breast tissue suitable for use in both transmission and refraction-enhanced imaging systems.Methods:Human cancer cell tumors were grown orthotopically in nude athymic mice and implanted into the fixed tissue while maintaining the native tumor/adipose tissue interface.Results:The resulting human–murine tissue hybrid phantom was mounted on a clear acrylic housing for absorption and refraction X-ray imaging.Digital breast tomosynthesis was also performed.Conclusion:Both attenuation-based imaging and refraction-based imaging of the phantom are presented to confirm the suitability of this phantom's use in both imaging modalities.

Numerical simulation of direct shear tests on mechanical properties of talus deposits based on self-adaptive PCNN digital image processing

The macro mechanical properties of materials with characteristics of large scale and complicated structural composition can be analyzed through its reconstructed meso-structures.In this work,the meso-structures of talus deposits that widely exist in the hydro-power engineering in the southwest of China were first reconstructed by small particles according to the in-situ photographs based on the self-adaptive PCNN digital image processing,and then numerical direct shear tests were carried out for studying the mechanical properties of talus deposits.Results indicate that the reconstructed meso-structures of talus deposits are more consistent with the actual situation because the self-adaptive PCNN digital image processing has a higher discrimination in the details of soil-rock segmentation.The existence and random distribution of rock blocks make the initial shear stiffness,the peak strength and the residual strength higher than those of the "pure soil" with particle size less than 1.25 cm apparently,but reduce the displacements required for the talus deposits reaching its peak shear strength.The increase of rock proportion causes a significant improvement in the internal friction angle of talus deposit,which to a certain degree leads to the characteristics of shear stress-displacement curves having a changing trend from the plastic strain softening deformation to the nonlinear strain hardening deformation,while an unconspicuous increase in cohesion.The uncertainty and heterogeneity of rock distributions cause the differences of rock proportion within shear zone,leading to a relatively strong fluctuation in peak strengths during the shear process,while movement features of rock blocks,such as translation,rotation and crossing,expand the scope of shear zone,increase the required shear force,and also directly lead to the misjudgment that the lower shear strength is obtained from the samples with high rock proportion.That,however,just explains the reason why the shear strength gained from a small amount of indoor test data is not consistent with engineering practice.

Tensile strength and failure behavior of rock-mortar interfaces: Direct and indirect measurements

The tensile strength at the rock-concrete interface is one of the crucial factors controlling the failure mechanisms of structures,such as concrete gravity dams.Despite the critical importance of the failure mechanism and tensile strength of rock-concrete interfaces,understanding of these factors remains very limited.This study investigated the tensile strength and fracturing processes at rock-mortar interfaces subjected to direct and indirect tensile loadings.Digital image correlation(DIC)and acoustic emission(AE)techniques were used to monitor the failure mechanisms of specimens subjected to direct tension and indirect loading(Brazilian tests).The results indicated that the direct tensile strength of the rock-mortar specimens was lower than their indirect tensile strength,with a direct/indirect tensile strength ratio of 65%.DIC strain field data and moment tensor inversions(MTI)of AE events indicated that a significant number of shear microcracks occurred in the specimens subjected to the Brazilian test.The presence of these shear microcracks,which require more energy to break,resulted in a higher tensile strength during the Brazilian tests.In contrast,microcracks were predominantly tensile in specimens subjected to direct tension,leading to a lower tensile strength.Spatiotemporal monitoring of the cracking processes in the rock-mortar interfaces revealed that they show AE precursors before failure under the Brazilian test,whereas they show a minimal number of AE events before failure under direct tension.Due to different microcracking mechanisms,specimens tested under Brazilian tests showed lower roughness with flatter fracture surfaces than those tested under direct tension with jagged and rough fracture surfaces.The results of this study shed light on better understanding the micromechanics of damage in the rock-concrete interfaces for a safer design of engineering structures.

The digital mapping produced with satellite image of the Zhongshan Station area in Antarctica

Ice and snow domint the land features in Antarctica. The great brightness and poorcontrast of ice and snow and streaking noise in satellite image make the procedure of image processing difficult. On the other hand however, the contrast between bare rock land/sea water and ice/snow is so high that the details of image will be overcompressed.In the light of characteristics of satellite image in Antarctica, a filtering to remove streaking noise has adn discussed. Based on automatic identify classification to enhance the details of objects and the method and theory of digital rectification of satellite image with ground control points measured from field survey are also presented.

MSD-Net: Pneumonia Classification Model Based on Multi-Scale Directional Feature Enhancement

Computer-aided diagnosis of pneumonia based on deep learning is a research hotspot.However,there are some problems that the features of different sizes and different directions are not sufficient when extracting the features in lung X-ray images.A pneumonia classification model based on multi-scale directional feature enhancement MSD-Net is proposed in this paper.The main innovations are as follows:Firstly,the Multi-scale Residual Feature Extraction Module(MRFEM)is designed to effectively extract multi-scale features.The MRFEM uses dilated convolutions with different expansion rates to increase the receptive field and extract multi-scale features effectively.Secondly,the Multi-scale Directional Feature Perception Module(MDFPM)is designed,which uses a three-branch structure of different sizes convolution to transmit direction feature layer by layer,and focuses on the target region to enhance the feature information.Thirdly,the Axial Compression Former Module(ACFM)is designed to perform global calculations to enhance the perception ability of global features in different directions.To verify the effectiveness of the MSD-Net,comparative experiments and ablation experiments are carried out.In the COVID-19 RADIOGRAPHY DATABASE,the Accuracy,Recall,Precision,F1 Score,and Specificity of MSD-Net are 97.76%,95.57%,95.52%,95.52%,and 98.51%,respectively.In the chest X-ray dataset,the Accuracy,Recall,Precision,F1 Score and Specificity of MSD-Net are 97.78%,95.22%,96.49%,95.58%,and 98.11%,respectively.This model improves the accuracy of lung image recognition effectively and provides an important clinical reference to pneumonia Computer-Aided Diagnosis.

Rapid digitalization and panoramic evaluation of weld X-ray film

The computer evaluation of weld X-ray film is an attractive technique for weld seam NDT （ nondestructive testing）. To achieve this target, digitalization of film is the first step and automatic defect identification is another key technique. In this paper, a weld X-ray film digitalizing system has been established with linear array CCD and highlight LED light source. Its space resolution can reach 0. 04 mm/pixel and scanning speed can reach 100 mm/s for an industrial film. The transfer function curves of the system have been measured and the results indicate that its image gray resolution can reach 88 G/D at 4. 5D, and its dynamic range can be wider than 2. OD. In order to facilitate the evaluation of large welded structure, a panoramic evaluation algorithm is developed also. The algorithm includes image matching, image fusion and panoramic evaluation of the long linked film image.

Research on Influence of Electromagnetic Interference on X-Ray Digital Detection

X-ray digital imaging technology has found wide application owing to its advantages of real-time, visualization and rapid imaging. In substations the substantial electromagnetic interference has some influence on the live detection by the X-ray digital imaging technology, hindering the promotion of the technology in the detection of electric equipment. Based on a large number of field tests, the author carded out a series of researches on electromagnetic interference protection measures, image de-noising, and image enhancement algorithms.

An Improved Neural Network Method for Forearm Bone Imaging Segmentation

In this paper, we propose several improved neural networks and training strategy using data augmentation to segment human radius accurately and efficiently. This method can provide pixel-level segmentation accuracy through the low-level features of the neural network, and automatically distinguish the classification of radius. The versatility and applicability can be effectively improved by learning and training digital X-ray images obtained from digital X-ray imaging systems of different manufacturers.

Three-dimensional finite element simulation and reconstruction of jointed rock models using CT scanning and photogrammetry

The geometry of joints has a significant influence on the mechanical properties of rocks.To simplify the curved joint shapes in rocks,the joint shape is usually treated as straight lines or planes in most laboratory experiments and numerical simulations.In this study,the computerized tomography (CT) scanning and photogrammetry were employed to obtain the internal and surface joint structures of a limestone sample,respectively.To describe the joint geometry,the edge detection algorithms and a three-dimensional (3D) matrix mapping method were applied to reconstruct CT-based and photogrammetry-based jointed rock models.For comparison tests,the numerical uniaxial compression tests were conducted on an intact rock sample and a sample with a joint simplified to a plane using the parallel computing method.The results indicate that the mechanical characteristics and failure process of jointed rocks are significantly affected by the geometry of joints.The presence of joints reduces the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS),elastic modulus,and released acoustic emission (AE) energy of rocks by 37%–67%,21%–24%,and 52%–90%,respectively.Compared to the simplified joint sample,the proposed photogrammetry-based numerical model makes the most of the limited geometry information of joints.The UCS,accumulative released AE energy,and elastic modulus of the photogrammetry-based sample were found to be very close to those of the CT-based sample.The UCS value of the simplified joint sample (i.e.38.5 MPa) is much lower than that of the CT-based sample (i.e.72.3 MPa).Additionally,the accumulative released AE energy observed in the simplified joint sample is 3.899 times lower than that observed in the CT-based sample.CT scanning provides a reliable means to visualize the joints in rocks,which can be used to verify the reliability of photogrammetry techniques.The application of the photogrammetry-based sample enables detailed analysis for estimating the mechanical properties of jointed rocks.

柯达Direct View DR500成像系统与柯尼卡REGINS350CR成像系统技术与性能对比分析

目的:研究相同工作模式下的CR与DR的技术与性能的差异。方法:柯尼卡REGINGS35 0CR(直接数字转换器35 0型)、柯达DirectViewDR5 0 0 0 ;西门子 MultixX光机;体模:QCPhantomforDigitalandConventionalChestRadiography ;EBM 上海岱嘉公司PACS系统 医学图像诊断工作站软件:(UniSight) ;BARLO 1K显示器。采集不同参数的体模图像2 0幅,采集不同参数及胖、中、瘦体型男女志愿者11人。结果:柯尼卡REGINS 35 0具有更广泛的实用性。总体性能评价;柯尼卡ERGINGS 35 0型除胸部摄影的影像质量比柯达DirectViewDR5 0 0 0稍有不足,但在其它部位摄取的影像质量要高于柯达DirecViewDR5 0 0 0 ,原因在于柯达DirectViewDR5 0 0 0的摄影距离固定为183cm ,其本身的成像性能与后处理功能无法弥补。结论:柯尼卡REGINGS 35 0型成像系统整体性能优于柯达DirectViewDR5 0 0 0成像系统。

直接数字化X射线摄影检查对肺部小结节的初步判断与分析

目的 探究直接数字化X射线摄影(DR)检查对肺部小结节的初步判断。方法 随机选取我院2023年2月至2024年2月收治的结节直径<20 mm的肺部疾病患者93例作为研究对象。所有患者均行DR诊断、DR双能减影(DES)诊断,以CT及CT引导下活检结果为金标准,对比2种诊断方式的检出率、良恶性结节的诊断效能以及图像质量。结果 DES诊断直径≤10 mm检出率、总检出率均高于DR诊断,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。DES鉴别诊断良恶性结节的灵敏度、特异度、准确度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值均高于DR诊断。DR诊断Kappa值=0.37,DES诊断Kappa值=0.86。DES诊断与肋骨重叠结节的图像质量高于DR诊断,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);DES诊断与肋骨无重叠结节的图像质量与DR诊断相比,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论 与DR相比,DES诊断肺部小结节图像质量佳,不仅能提高诊断准确率,还有助于鉴别诊断良恶性结节。

In-situ observation of solid-liquid interface transition during directional solidification of Al-Zn alloy via X-ray imaging

The morphological instability of solid/liquid(S/L)interface during solidification will result in different patterns of microstructure.In this study,two dimension(2 D)and three dimension(3 D)in-situ observation of solid/liquid interfacial morphology transition in Al-Zn alloy during directional solidification were performed via X-ray imaging.Under a condition of increasing temperature gradient(G),the interface transition from dendritic pattern to cellular pattern,and then to planar growth with perturbation was captured.The effect of solidification parameter(the ratio of temperature gradient and growth velocity(v),G/v)on morphological instabilities was investigated and the experimental results were compared to classical"constitutional supercooling"theory.The results indicate that 2 D and 3 D evolution process of S/L interface morphology under the same thermal condition are different.It seems that the S/L interface in 2 D observation is easier to achieve planar growth than that in 3 D,implying higher S/L interface stability in 2 D thin plate samples.This can be explained as the restricted liquid flow under 2 D solidification which is beneficial to S/L interface stability.The in-situ observation in present study can provide coherent dataset for microstructural formation investigation and related model validation during solidification.

Microstructural Characteristics of Asphalt Concrete with Different Gradations by X-ray CT

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effects of asphalt concrete types on the microstructural characteristics at high-temperature. Suspend-dense structure and Skeleton-dense structure were selected to investigate the deformation of pavement at meso-scale. The internal microstructures of typical asphalt concretes, AC, SUP and SMA, were scanned by X-ray CT device, and microstructural changes before and after high-temperature damage were researched by digital image processing. Adaptive threshold segmentation algorithm（ATSA） based on image radius was developed and utilized to obtain the binary images of aggregates, air-voids and asphalt mastic. Then the shape and distribution of air-voids and aggregates were analyzed. The results show that the ATSA can distinguish the target and background effectively. Gradation and coarse aggregate size of asphalt mixtures have an obvious influence on the distribution of air-voids. The movements of aggregate particles are complex and aggregates with elliptic sharp show great rotation. The effect of gradation on microstructure during high-temperature damage promotes the research about the failure mechanism of asphalt concrete pavement.

Design of Omni-Directional Tilt Sensor Based on Machine Vision

This paper presents a new Omni-Directional Tilt Sensor (ODTS), which consists of the LED light, transparent cone-shaped closed container, mercury, camera, embedded systems and so on. The volume of the mercury in the container is equal to half of the container’s. When the detected surface is horizontal, the shape of mercury in the image captured by the camera is a black disc since the mercury is lightproof. When the detected surface tilts, the mercury flows and the mercury surface always maintains horizontally due to the gravity force of the earth. At this time, some area of the transparent cone-shaped closed container is not shaded by mercury and the border of the mercury’s shape in the captured image is a half circle and a half ellipse. Thus there is a translucent crescent-shaped area in the image. With analyzing this area by the specific algorithm based on machine vision, the tilt angle and directional angle can be obtained. The experimental results show that the ODTS proposed has some advantages, such as simple maintenance, high precision, wide range, low cost, real-time, reliability and high visualization.

Effective Thermal Conductivity for 3D Five-Directional Braided Composites Based on Microstructural Analysis

A method for predicting effective thermal conductivities(ETCs) of three-dimensional five-directional(3D5D) braided composites is presented. The effective thermal conductivity prediction method contains a digital image processing technology. Multiple scanning electron microscopy(SEM)images of composites are analyzed to obtain actual microstructural features. These actual microstructural features of 3D5D braided composites are introduced into representative volume element(RVE) modeling. Apart from applying actual microstructural features,compression effects between yarns are considered in the modeling of RVE,making the RVE more realistic. Therefore,the ETC prediction method establishes a representative unit cell model that better reflects the true microstructural characteristics of the 3D5D braided composites. The ETCs are predicted with the finite element method. Then thermal conductivity measurements are carried out for a 3D5D braided composite sample.By comparing the predicted ETC with the measured thermal conductivity, the whole process of the ETC prediction method is proved to be effective and accurate,where a relative error of only 2.9 % is obtained.Furthermore,the effects of microstructural features are investigated,indicating that increasing interior braiding angles and fiber fill factor can lead to higher transverse ETCs. Longitudinal ETCs decrease with increasing interior braiding angles,but increase with increasing fiber fill factor. Finally,the influence of variations of microstructure parameters observed in digital image processing are investigated. To explore the influence of variations in microstructural features on variations in predicted ETCs,the actual probability distributions of microstructural features obtained from the 3D5D braided composite sample are introduced into the ETC investigation. The results show that,compared with the interior braiding angle,variations in the fiber fill factor exhibit more significant effects on variations in ETCs.

3D anisotropy in shear failure of a typical shale

It is inadequate to study the shear failure anisotropy of shale in only 2D space.Aiming at a 3D analysis,a series of direct shear tests was conducted on Longmaxi shale with three typical bedding orientations:arrester,divider and short-transverse orientations.During testing,acoustic emission(AE)and digital image correlation(DIC)techniques were simultaneously employed to monitor failure development,after testing,X-ray computed tomography(CT)scanning was adopted to acquire and reconstruct the fractures inside typical ruptured samples for more detailed analysis.The results indicated that the shear strength parameters exhibited 3D anisotropies and those of the arrester sample did not have equivalent shear strength parameters to the shale matrix.The maximum(minimum)shear strength and cohesion were obtained with the divider(short-transverse)orientation,and the internal friction angle reached its maximum(minimum)with the divider(arrester)orientation.Combining the AE,DIC and CT techniques,four characteristic stress levels that can capture the progressive shear failure process of shale rocks were identified,and the onset and accelerated development of shear damage-induced dilation were observed at the crack initiation and coalesce stress thresholds,respectively.During the crack coalescence stage,the dominated microcracking mechanism transferred from tensile-mode to shear-mode.For the arrester and divider orientations,more tensile-mode AE events were generated due to the microcracking along the vertical beddings.Compared with the divider samples,a more complex fracture network with a larger fracture area and volume was obtained in the arrester samples,whose strengths were smaller.

基于数字水印技术的平面设计图像加密方法

由于当前的平面设计图像加密方法所设计的加密结构多为独立目标,加密范围有限,导致加密置乱度下降,为此提出基于数字水印技术的平面设计图像加密方法。首先,根据实际加密的需求及标准提取图像特征码,形成定向的图像加密环境;其次,采用多目标处理的方式,计算图像灰度值,完成平面设计图像的灰度处理;最后,采用数字水印技术进行加密水印的置换嵌入,实现图像加密处理。测试结果表明,该加密方法的稳定性与安全性较高,具有更好的加密针对效果,加密的效率较高,具有较高的应用价值。

数字图像处理技术的现状及其发展方向

综述了数字图像处理技术的主要特点和优点,阐述了包括图像采集与数字化、图像的压缩、图像的增强与复原、图像的分割和图像分析等主要内容的产生及其发展历程,并根据该领域的最新进展,简述了数字图像处理技术5个主要研究方面的最新热点,最后总结了数字图像处理技术领域中面临的主要挑战和未来发展方向.