Non-rigid registration and KLT filter to improve SNR and CNR in GRE-EPI myocardial perfusion imaging

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of motion compensation by non-rigid registration combined with the Karhunen-Loeve Transform (KLT) filter on the signal to noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of hybrid gradient-echo echoplanar (GRE-EPI) first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging. Twenty one consecutive first-pass adenosine stress perfusion MR data sets interpreted positive for ischemia or infarction were processed by non-rigid Registration followed by KLT filtering. SNR and CNR were measured in abnormal and normal myocardium in unfiltered and KLT filtered images following nonrigid registration to compensate for respiratory and other motions. Image artifacts introduced by filtering in registered and nonregistered images were evaluated by two observers. There was a statistically sig- nificant increase in both SNR and CNR between normal and abnormal myocardium with KLT filtering (mean SNR increased by 62.18% ± 21.05% and mean CNR increased by 58.84% ± 18.06%;p = 0.01). Motion correction prior to KLT filtering reduced significantly the occurrence of filter induced artifacts (KLT only-artifacts in 42 out of 55 image series vs. registered plus KLT-artifacts in 3 out of 55 image series). In conclusion the combination of non-rigid registration and KLT filtering was shown to increase the SNR and CNR of GRE-EPI perfusion images. Subjective evaluation of image artifacts revealed that prior motion compensation significantly reduced the artifacts introduced by the KLT filtering process.

MUTUAL INFORMATION BASED 3D NON-RIGID REGISTRATION OF CT/MR ABDOMEN IMAGES

A mutual information based 3D non-rigid registration approach was proposed for the registration of deformable CT/MR body abdomen images. The Parzen Windows Density Estimation (PWDE) method is adopted to calculate the mutual information between the two modals of CT and MRI abdomen images. By maximizing MI between the CT and MR volume images, the overlapping part of them reaches the biggest, which means that the two body images of CT and MR matches best to each other. Visible Human Project (VHP) Male abdomen CT and MRI Data are used as experimental data sets. The experimental results indicate that this approach of non-rigid 3D registration of CT/MR body abdominal images can be achieved effectively and automatically, without any prior processing procedures such as segmentation and feature extraction, but has a main drawback of very long computation time.

Non-rigid registration of medical images based on S^(1/2)(Δ_(mn)^((2)))non-tensor product Bspline

In this study,a non-tensor product B-spline algorithm is applied to the search space of the registration process,and a new method of image non-rigid registration is proposed.The tensor product B-spline is a function defined in the two directions of x and y,while the non-tensor product B-spline S^(1/2)(Δ_(mn)^((2)))is defined in four directions on the 2-type triangulation.For certain problems,using non-tensor product B-splines to describe the non-rigid deformation of an image can more accurately extract the four-directional information of the image,thereby describing the global or local non-rigid deformation of the image in more directions.Indeed,it provides a method to solve the problem of image deformation in multiple directions.In addition,the region of interest of medical images is irregular,and usually no value exists on the boundary triangle.The value of the basis function of the non-tensor product B-spline on the boundary triangle is only 0.The algorithm process is optimized.The algorithm performs completely automatic non-rigid registration of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging images of patients.In particular,this study compares the performance of the proposed algorithm with the tensor product B-spline registration algorithm.The results elucidate that the proposed algorithm clearly improves the accuracy.

Non-Rigid Medical Image Registration with Joint Histogram Estimation Based on Mutual Information

A mutual information-based non-rigid medical image registration algorithm is presented. An approximate function of Hanning windowed sinc is used as kernel function of partial volume (PV) interpolation to estimate the joint histogram, which is the key to calculating the mutual information. And a new method is proposed to compute the gradient of mutual information with respect to the model parameters. The transformation of object is modeled by a free-form deformation (FFD) based on B-splines. The experiments on 3D synthetic and real image data show that the algorithm can converge at the global optimum and restrain the emergency of local extreme.

Facial optical flow estimation via neural non-rigid registration

Optical flow estimation in human facial video,which provides 2D correspondences between adjacent frames,is a fundamental pre-processing step for many applications,like facial expression capture and recognition.However,it is quite challenging as human facial images contain large areas of similar textures,rich expressions,and large rotations.These characteristics also result in the scarcity of large,annotated realworld datasets.We propose a robust and accurate method to learn facial optical flow in a self-supervised manner.Specifically,we utilize various shape priors,including face depth,landmarks,and parsing,to guide the self-supervised learning task via a differentiable nonrigid registration framework.Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method achieves remarkable improvements for facial optical flow estimation in the presence of significant expressions and large rotations.

Automatic Extraction of the Sparse Prior Correspondences for Non-Rigid Point Cloud Registration

Non-rigid registration of point clouds is still far from stable,especially for the largely deformed one.Sparse initial correspondences are often adopted to facilitate the process.However,there are few studies on how to build them automatically.Therefore,in this paper,we propose a robust method to compute such priors automatically,where a global and local combined strategy is adopted.These priors in different degrees of deformation are obtained by the locally geometrical-consistent point matches from the globally structural-consistent region correspondences.To further utilize the matches,this paper also proposes a novel registration method based on the Coherent Point Drift framework.This method takes both the spatial proximity and local structural consistency of the priors as supervision of the registration process and thus obtains a robust alignment for clouds with significantly different deformations.Qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

Differentiable Deformation Graph-Based Neural Non-rigid Registration

The traditional pipeline for non-rigid registration is to iteratively update the correspondence and alignment such that the transformed source surface aligns well with the target surface.Among the pipeline,the correspondence construction and iterative manner are key to the results,while existing strategies might result in local optima.In this paper,we adopt the widely used deformation graph-based representation,while replacing some key modules with neural learning-based strategies.Specifically,we design a neural network to predict the correspondence and its reliability confidence rather than the strategies like nearest neighbor search and pair rejection.Besides,we adopt the GRU-based recurrent network for iterative refinement,which is more robust than the traditional strategy.The model is trained in a self-supervised manner and thus can be used for arbitrary datasets without ground-truth.Extensive experiments demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods by a large margin.

GAN-DIRNet:A Novel Deformable Image Registration Approach for Multimodal Histological Images

Multi-modal histological image registration tasks pose significant challenges due to tissue staining operations causing partial loss and folding of tissue.Convolutional neural network(CNN)and generative adversarial network(GAN)are pivotal inmedical image registration.However,existing methods often struggle with severe interference and deformation,as seen in histological images of conditions like Cushing’s disease.We argue that the failure of current approaches lies in underutilizing the feature extraction capability of the discriminator inGAN.In this study,we propose a novel multi-modal registration approach GAN-DIRNet based on GAN for deformable histological image registration.To begin with,the discriminators of two GANs are embedded as a new dual parallel feature extraction module into the unsupervised registration networks,characterized by implicitly extracting feature descriptors of specific modalities.Additionally,modal feature description layers and registration layers collaborate in unsupervised optimization,facilitating faster convergence and more precise results.Lastly,experiments and evaluations were conducted on the registration of the Mixed National Institute of Standards and Technology database(MNIST),eight publicly available datasets of histological sections and the Clustering-Registration-Classification-Segmentation(CRCS)dataset on the Cushing’s disease.Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed GAN-DIRNet method surpasses existing approaches like DIRNet in terms of both registration accuracy and time efficiency,while also exhibiting robustness across different image types.

Nonlinear Registration of Brain Magnetic Resonance Images with Cross Constraints of Intensity and Structure

Many deep learning-based registration methods rely on a single-stream encoder-decoder network for computing deformation fields between 3D volumes.However,these methods often lack constraint information and overlook semantic consistency,limiting their performance.To address these issues,we present a novel approach for medical image registration called theDual-VoxelMorph,featuring a dual-channel cross-constraint network.This innovative network utilizes both intensity and segmentation images,which share identical semantic information and feature representations.Two encoder-decoder structures calculate deformation fields for intensity and segmentation images,as generated by the dual-channel cross-constraint network.This design facilitates bidirectional communication between grayscale and segmentation information,enabling the model to better learn the corresponding grayscale and segmentation details of the same anatomical structures.To ensure semantic and directional consistency,we introduce constraints and apply the cosine similarity function to enhance semantic consistency.Evaluation on four public datasets demonstrates superior performance compared to the baselinemethod,achieving Dice scores of 79.9%,64.5%,69.9%,and 63.5%for OASIS-1,OASIS-3,LPBA40,and ADNI,respectively.

A harmonisation approach to traditional Chinese medicine registration in Asian countries

The traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)industry is critical to not only for public health but also for economic growth.According to the European Union(EU)directives,under the EU framework for(traditional)herbal medicinal products,herbal medicines with long history of use can be registered in EU.However,there is a condition in this directive in which only those that have at least 10e15 years in the EU market are accepted for registration and/or marketing authorization.In author opinion,the condition of 10-15 years of use in EU countries set within the EU regulatory framework is with consideration of the genetic differences which can result in variation in adverse drug responses among different world populations.With this concept in mind,it is reasonable to project the principal of the EU directive to the Asian countries where TCM is originated.Countries like China,Singapore,Japan and South Korea that have well established drug registration framework are in best position in executing the best practice and facilitate harmonization of registration for TCM within the region.Furthermore,the registration process itself allows more safety and efficacy data to be collected systemically before and after product registration/marketing authorization.These are valuable information for future drug development.The therapeutic value of TCM is limitless,it has been left out in the EU regulatory framework,and the opportunity for it to be expanded and carried forward in modern medicines is shadowed by the limited number of TCM that are qualified to be registered under the EU regulatory framework.An early establishment of a harmonized risk-based registration process for TCM in Asian countries is important.This will strengthen the database to substantiate the history of safe use and further preserving and expanding the therapeutic values of TCM within and beyond the Asian region.

Optimization of the Use of Spherical Targets for Point Cloud Registration Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Registrations based on the manual placement of spherical targets are still being employed by many professionals in the industry.However,the placement of those targets usually relies solely on personal experience without scientific evidence supported by numerical analysis.This paper presents a comprehensive investigation,based on Monte Carlo simulation,into determining the optimal number and positions for efficient target placement in typical scenes consisting of a pair of facades.It demonstrates new check-up statistical rules and geometrical constraints that can effectively extract and analyze massive simulations of unregistered point clouds and their corresponding registrations.More than 6×10^(7) sets of the registrations were simulated,whereas more than IOO registrations with real data were used to verify the results of simulation.The results indicated that using five spherical targets is the best choice for the registration of a large typical registration site consisting of two vertical facades and a ground,when there is only a box set of spherical targets available.As a result,the users can avoid placing extra targets to achieve insignificant improvements in registration accuracy.The results also suggest that the higher registration accuracy can be obtained when the ratio between the facade-to-target distance and target-to-scanner distance is approximately 3:2.Therefore,the targets should be placed closer to the scanner rather than in the middle between the facades and the scanner,contradicting to the traditional thought. Besides,the results reveal that the accuracy can be increased by setting the largest projected triangular area of the targets to be large.

Non-Rigid Image Registration Algorithm Based on B-Splines Approximation

An intensity-based non-rigid registration algorithm is discussed, which uses Gaussian smoothing to constrain the transformation to be smooth, and thus preserves the topology of images. In view of the insufficiency of the uniform Gaussian filtering of the deformation field, an automatic and accurate non-rigid image registration method based on B-splines approximation is proposed. The regularization strategy is adopted by using multi-level B-splines approximation to regularize the displacement fields in a coarse-to-fine manner. Moreover, it assigns the different weights to the estimated displacements according to their reliabilities. In this way, the level of regularity can be adapted locally. Experiments were performed on both synthetic and real medical images of brain, and the results show that the proposed method improves the registration accuracy and robustness.

Analysis of Ophthalmology Drug Clinical Trial Institutions in China: Challenges and Opportunities Under the Registration System

Objective:To analyze the status of ophthalmology drug clinical trial institutions in China following the implementation of the registration system and provide a reference for their development.Methods:An analysis was conducted using data from the Drug Clinical Trial Institution Registration Management Information Platform and the Drug Clinical Trial Registration and Information Publicity Platform of the National Medical Products Administration.The search period was up to April 19,2024.Results:As of April 19,2024,314 ophthalmology-specific institutions were registered nationwide,comprising 274 comprehensive medical institutions and 40 specialized ophthalmology institutions,representing a 245%increase compared to the qualification certification phase.There were 965 major researchers in ophthalmology,accounting for 6.3%of the total number of researchers across all registered ophthalmology institutions.These institutions were predominantly located in economically developed areas such as Guangdong,Zhejiang,and Jiangsu Provinces,with the top five provinces and cities comprising 39.8%of the total registered institutions.Beijing had the highest number of major researchers(126),with their distribution positively correlated with the geographic spread of registered institutions.Furthermore,as of April 19,2024,there were 216 clinical drugs related to eye diseases,with the top three provinces conducting 77.8%of national clinical trial projects.The number of institutions was directly proportional to the volume of clinical trials conducted.Conclusion:The implementation of the registration system has facilitated the release of ophthalmic medical resources.However,regional disparities remain in the number of ophthalmology-specific institutions,the availability of major investigators,and the distribution of clinical trial projects.

Balanced Functional Maps for Three-Dimensional Non-Rigid Shape Registration

Three-dimensional(3D)shape registration is a challenging problem,especially for shapes under non-rigid transformations.In this paper,a 3D non-rigid shape registration method is proposed,called balanced functional maps(BFM).The BFM algorithm generalizes the point-based correspondence to functions.By choosing the Laplace-Beltrami eigenfunctions as the function basis,the transformations between shapes can be represented by the functional map(FM)matrix.In addition,many constraints on shape registration,such as the feature descriptor,keypoint,and salient region correspondence,can be formulated linearly using the matrix.By bi-directionally searching for the nearest neighbors of points’indicator functions in the function space,the point-based correspondence can be derived from FMs.We conducted several experiments on the Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications(TOSCA)dataset and the Shape Completion and Animation of People(SCAPE)dataset.Experimental results show that the proposed BFM algorithm is effective and has superior performance than the state-of-the-art methods on both datasets.

Research Progress and Suggestions on China’s Drug Registration Management Based on CiteSpace Knowledge Maps

Objective To analyze the research status and hot spots in the field of drug registration in China,and to provide some suggestions for the follow-up research.Methods CiteSpace was used to conduct literature quantitative analysis on 684 related articles from 2012 to 2022,and the knowledge map was drawn.Based on this,the main characteristics and development trends of the related studies were summarized.Results and Conclusion The number of articles published was closely related to the regulatory policy of drug registration reform.The authors of these articles did not have good continuity.Besides,research hot spots were closely related to the actual work,which was mainly around the improvement of the review and approval policy,encouraging innovative drug research and development,improving the level of new drug development and other directions.The follow-up studies should further strengthen the continuity of research and inter-agency collaboration.In addition,biomedical registration may become a new research focus in the future.

The Impact of Simulation Education on Self-Efficacy in Pre-Registration Nursing Students

This literature review primarily aims to explore and synthesise the previous studies in simulation education research conducted over the past five years related to the effects of simulation training on the self-efficacy of undergraduate pre-registration nursing students. The second aim of this study is to explore additional outcome variables that were examined in the previous studies. Five electronic databases were searched systematically. These databases were MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, Embase and PsycINFO. The PICO model was employed to identify the search terms, with a thesaurus being used to provide synonyms. Reference lists of relevant articles were examined and hand searches of journals were also undertaken. The quality of each study was assessed using the Simulation Research Rubric (SRR). A total of 11 studies were included. All studies explored the impact of simulation education on undergraduate pre-registration nursing. Six studies explored nursing students’ competence and performance and two papers examined their critical thinking. Problem solving, learning motivation, communication skills and knowledge acquisition were examined once. The majority of studies indicated that simulation training has a positive impact on pre-registration nursing students’ self-efficacy and other outcome variables. Furthermore, the study results indicate that simulation training is more dependable than traditional training, and students were extremely satisfied with the simulation training. However, most of the studies included in this review had several gaps, including study design, sample size and dissimilarities between the scales used. Further research with large samples, reliable and valid instruments, and outcomes measures (such as critical thinking and transferability of skills) is required to provide better insight into the effectiveness of simulation in undergraduate nursing education. .

Accuracy Validation for Medical Image Registration Algorithms:a Review

Accuracy validation is essential to clinical application of medical image registration techniques. Registration validation remains a challenging problem in practice mainly due to lack of 'ground truth'. In this paper, an overview of current validation methods for medical image registration is presented with detailed discussion of their benefits and drawbacks. Special focus is on non-rigid registration validation. Promising solution is also discussed.

Automated Registration for Infrared Image Based on Wavelet Analysis

To develop a quick, accurate and antinoise automated image registration technique for infrared images, the wavelet analysis technique was used to extract the feature points in two images followed by the compensation for input image with angle difference between them. A hi erarchical feature matching algorithm was adopted to get the final transform parameters between the two images. The simulation results for two infrared images show that the method can effectively, quickly and accurately register images and be antinoise to some extent.

Sensor Registration in Asynchronous Data Fusion

To find an effective method to estimate and remove the registration error in asynchronous multisensor system, Kalman filtering technique and least squares approach have been proposed to estimate and remove sensor bias and sensor frame tilt errors in multisensor systems with asynchronous data. Simulation results is presented to demonstrate the performance of these approaches. The least squares approach can compress measurements to any time. The Kalman filter algorithm can detect registration errors and use the information to converge tracks from independent sensors. This is particularly important if the data from the sensors are to be fused.