A graphical user interface(GUI)for model-based radiation-induced acoustic computed tomography

Radiation-induced acoustic computed tomography(RACT)is an evolving biomedical imaging modality that aims to reconstruct the radiation energy deposition in tissues.Traditional backprojection(BP)reconstructions carry noisy and limited-view artifacts.Model-based algorithms have been demonstrated to overcome the drawbacks of BPs.However,model-based algorithms are relatively more complex to develop and computationally demanding.Furthermore,while a plethora of novel algorithms has been developed over the past decade,most of these algorithms are either not accessible,readily available,or hard to implement for researchers who are not well versed in programming.We developed a user-friendly MATLAB-based graphical user interface(GUI;RACT2D)that facilitates back-projection and model-based image reconstructions for twodimensional RACT problems.We included numerical and experimental X-ray-induced acoustic datasets to demonstrate the capabilities of the GUI.The developed algorithms support parallel computing for evaluating reconstructions using the cores of the computer,thus further accelerating the reconstruction speed.We also share the MATLAB-based codes for evaluating RACT reconstructions,which users with MATLAB programming expertise can further modify to suit their needs.The shared GUI and codes can be of interest to researchers across the globe and assist them in e±cient evaluation of improved RACT reconstructions.

The Clinical Strategies Implementation Scale Revised(CSI-R).Fidelity Assessment of Resource Group Assertive Community Treatment

The Clinical Strategies Implementation scale (CSI) was originally designed to be used by external reviewers in order to measure the extent to which evidence-based strategies had been implemented in the treatment of persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders according to Resource-group Assertive Community Treatment (RACT). The present investigation had two aims: 1) to conduct a revision of CSI and to examine the revised instrument (CSI-R) in terms of interrater reliability (Study I);2) to compare assessments of CSI-R made by experienced assessors with assessments made by students in case management (Study II) in order to determine whether the instrument has validity even when more inexperienced persons are using it. In Study I six raters, who took part in 12 to 15 cases from three outpatient community mental health teams, participated. Results indicated that internal consistency of the CSI-R was strong (alpha = 0.89) as well as correlations between individual raters’ (r between 0.80-0.98). In Study II 91 newly trained RACT praxis trainees participated. Each of them followed one case for eighteen months, i.e., the client which they had been assigned during training (n = 91). The five external auditors in the education program then independently assessed the 91 cases with the CSI-R. Results showed significant correlations between experts and trainees (rho = 0.68,