Weighted-elastic-wave interferometric imaging of microseismic source location

Knowledge of the locations of seismic sources is critical for microseismic monitoring. Time-window-based elastic wave interferometric imaging and weighted- elastic-wave （WEW） interferometric imaging are proposed and used to locate modeled microseismic sources. The proposed method improves the precision and eliminates artifacts in location profiles. Numerical experiments based on a horizontally layered isotropic medium have shown that the method offers the following advantages： It can deal with Iow-SNR microseismic data with velocity perturbations as well as relatively sparse receivers and still maintain relatively high precision despite the errors in the velocity model. Furthermore, it is more efficient than conventional traveltime inversion methods because interferometric imaging does not require traveltime picking. Numerical results using a 2D fault model have also suggested that the weighted-elastic-wave interferometric imaging can locate multiple sources with higher location precision than the time-reverse imaging method.

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic elastic imaging:A simulation study

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MTI)has the advantages of high resolution,high contrast,non-ionization,and non-invasive.Recently,MTI was used in the¯eld of breast cancer screening.In this paper,based on the¯nite element method(FEM)and COMSOL Multiphysics software,a three-dimensional breast cancer model suitable for exploring the MTI process is proposed to investigate the in°uence of Young's modulus(YM)of breast cancer tissue on MTI.It is found that the process of electromagnetic heating and initial pressure generation of the entire breast tissue is earlier in time than the thermal expansion process.Besides,compared with normal breast tissue,tumor tissue has a greater temperature rise,displacement,and pressure rise.In particular,YM of the tumor is related to the speed of thermal expansion.In particular,the larger the YM of the tumor is,the higher the heating and contraction frequency is,and the greater the maximum pressure is.Di®erent Young's moduli correspond to di®erent thermoacoustic signal spectra.In MTI,this study can be used to judge di®erent degrees of breast cancer based on elastic imaging.In addition,this study is helpful in exploring the possibility of microwave-induced thermoacoustic elastic imaging(MTAE).

E-Cervix imaging displaying cervical elasticity characteristics of healthy adult nulliparous women at different age groups and different menstrual cycle stages

Objective To observe the cervical elasticity of healthy adult nulliparous women at different age groups and different stages of menstrual cycle with E-Cervix imaging technology.Methods A total of 218 healthy adult nulliparous women who underwent transvaginal ultrasound examination for routine physical examination were retrospectively enrolled,including 103 in follicular phase,78 in ovulation phase and 37 in luteal phase.Cervical canal length(CL)and E-Cervix elasticity parameters were compared among different age groups and different stages of menstrual cycle,including elasticity contrast index(ECI),hardness ratio(HR),cervical internal and external orifice strain values(IOS and EOS)and IOS/EOS ratio.Results No significant difference of CL nor cervical elasticity parameters was detected among healthy adult nulliparous women at different age groups(all P>0.05).There were significant differences of ECI,HR and IOS among different menstrual cycle stages(all P<0.05),among which women in follicular phase had higher ECI and IOS but lower HR than those in luteal phase(all P<0.05).Conclusion No significant difference of cervical elasticity existed among healthy adult nulliparous women at different age groups.Meanwhile,cervical elasticity of healthy adult nulliparous women changed during menstrual cycle,in follicular phase had higher ECI and IOS but lower HR than in luteal phase.

Elastic wave imaging of two dimensional targets

Presents a new way of elastic wave imaging which features 1)high inversion accuracy; 2)stable and rapid convergence; 3) high resistance to random noise; 4) little dependence on initial values, and concludes with numerical results that this method has many advantages over all the other imaging methods because our inversion equation following the variation principle reflects the relation between the little variation of scattering field and that of perturbation function.

A Modified Monte Carlo Model of Speckle Tracking of Shear Wave Induced by Acoustic Radiation Force for Acousto-Optic Elasticity Imaging

A modified Monte Carlo model of speckle tracking of shear wave propagation in scattering media is proposed. The established Monte Carlo model mainly concerns the variations of optical electric field and speckle. The two- dimensional intensity distribution and the time evolution of speckles in different probe locations are obtained. The fluctuation of speckle intensity tracks the acoustic-radiation-force shear wave propagation, and especially the reduction of speckle intensity implies attenuation of shear wave. Then, the shear wave velocity is estimated quantitatively on the basis of the time-to-peak algorithm and linear regression processing. The results reveal that a smaller sampling interval yields higher estimation precision and the shear wave velocity is estimated more efficiently by using speckle intensity difference than by using speckle contrast difference according to the estimation error. Hence, the shear wave velocity is estimated to be 2.25 m/s with relatively high accuracy for the estimation error reaches the minimum （0.071）.

DEVELOPMENT OF A GENERIC ULTRASOUND VIBRO-ACOUSTIC IMAGING PLATFORM FOR TISSUE ELASTICITY AND VISCOSITY

Tissue elasticity and viscosity are always associated with pathological changes.As a new imaging method,ultrasound vibro-acoustic imaging is developed for quantitatively measuring tissue elasticity and viscosity which have important significance in early diagnosis of cancer.This paper developed an ultrasound vibro-acoustic imaging research platform mainly consisting of excitation part and detection part.The excitation transducer was focused at one location within the medium to generate harmonic vibration and shear wave propagation,and the detection transducer was applied to detect shear wave at other locations along shear wave propagation path using pulse-echo method.The received echoes were amplified,filtered,digitized and then processed by Kalman filter to estimate the vibration phase.According to the phase changes between different propagation locations,we estimated the shear wave speed,and then used it to calculate the tissue elasticity and viscosity.Preliminary phantom experiments based on this platform show results of phantom elasticity and viscosity close to literature values.Upcoming experiments are now in progress to obtain quantitative elasticity and viscosity in vitro tissue.

基于Elastic-net正则化的神经网络方法求解反问题

神经网络已经成为求解反问题的热点方法之一,引入elastic-net正则项作为神经网络中损失函数的惩罚项防止求解过程的过度拟合,并通过交叉训练实现基于elastic-net正则项的神经网络的算法.通过压缩感知和图像去模糊2个数值实验,验证elastic-net正则项防止过度拟合的可行性和有效性.此外,当变换矩阵条件数较大时,在较低的训练轮次下可以达到较好的训练效果.

Linearized waveform inversion for vertical transversely isotropic elastic media:Methodology and multi-parameter crosstalk analysis

Seismic migration and inversion are closely related techniques to portray subsurface images and identify hydrocarbon reservoirs.Seismic migration aims at obtaining structural images of subsurface geologic discontinuities.More specifically,seismic migration estimates the reflectivity function(stacked average reflectivity or pre-stack angle-dependent reflectivity)from seismic reflection data.On the other hand,seismic inversion quantitatively estimates the intrinsic rock properties of subsurface formulations.Such seismic inversion methods are applicable to detect hydrocarbon reservoirs that may exhibit lateral variations in the inverted parameters.Although there exist many differences,pre-stack seismic migration is similar with the first iteration of the general linearized seismic inversion.Usually,seismic migration and inversion techniques assume an acoustic or isotropic elastic medium.Unconventional reservoirs such as shale and tight sand formation have notable anisotropic property.We present a linearized waveform inversion(LWI)scheme for weakly anisotropic elastic media with vertical transversely isotropic(VTI)symmetry.It is based on two-way anisotropic elastic wave equation and simultaneously inverts for the localized perturbations(ΔVp_(0)/Vp_(0)/Vs_(0)/Vs_(0)/,Δ∈,Δδ)from the long-wavelength reference model.Our proposed VTI-elastic LWI is an iterative method that requires a forward and an adjoint operator acting on vectors in each iteration.We derive the forward Born approximation operator by perturbation theory and adjoint operator via adjoint-state method.The inversion has improved the quality of the images and reduces the multi-parameter crosstalk comparing with the adjoint-based images.We have observed that the multi-parameter crosstalk problem is more prominent in the inversion images for Thomsen anisotropy parameters.Especially,the Thomsen parameter is the most difficult to resolve.We also analyze the multi-parameter crosstalk using scattering radiation patterns.The linearized waveform inversion for VTI-elastic media presented in this article provides quantitative information of the rock properties that has the potential to help identify hydrocarbon reservoirs.

基于EI优化权值的多聚焦图像融合方法

针对图像融合空间域方法中权值确定的问题,提出了一种基于图像融合客观评价准则中的边缘信息E(IEdge Information)的优化权值方法,通过寻找最优权值使得融合图像的EI最大,从而获得最好的融合效果。该方法采用适应度函数为EI的遗传算法实现,并且结合分块加权融合方法融合多聚焦图像,得到最优融合结果。实验结果表明,该方法有良好的融合效果且优于传统的融合方法。

应用EIS观测技术圈定垃圾填埋区范围

应用电法成像观测(EIS)技术对北京通州某垃圾填埋场开展了面积性探测,并采用Quasi-Newton算法对EIS观测资料进行了反演,获取了地下介质电阻率的分布特征。在此基础上,对垃圾填埋范围进行了解释推断。钻孔结果表明,EIS解释结果较为准确地圈定了垃圾填埋的范围。

Acoustic radiation force imaging sonoelastography for noninvasive staging of liver fibrosis

AIM:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging as a noninvasive method for the assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.METHODS:We performed a prospective blind com-parison of ARFI elastography,APRI index and FibroMax in a consecutive series of patients who underwent liver biopsy for CHC in University Hospital Bucharest. His-topathological staging of liver fibrosis according to the METAVIR scoring system served as the reference. A to-tal of 74 patients underwent ARFI elastography,APRI index,FibroMax and successful liver biopsy. RESULTS:The noninvasive tests had a good correlation with the liver biopsy results. The most powerful test in predicting fibrosis was ARFI elastography. The diagnostic accuracy of ARFI elastography,expressedas area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) had a validity of 90.2% (95% CI AUROC = 0.831-0.972,P < 0.001) for the diagnosis of significant f ibrosis (F ≥ 2). ARFI sonoelastography predicted even better F3 or F4 fibrosis (AUROC = 0.993,95% CI = 0.979-1).CONCLUSION:ARFI elastography had very good accuracy for the assessment of liver fibrosis and was superior to other noninvasive methods (APRI Index,FibroMax) for staging liver fibrosis.

“PALPATION BY IMAGING”:MAGNETIC RESONANCE ELASTOGRAPHY

Elasticity is an important physical property of human tissues. There is a tremendous difference in elasticity between normal and pathological tissues. Noninvasive evaluation of the elasticity of human tissues would be valuable for clinical practice. Magnetic resonance elastography(MRE)is a recently developed noninvasive imaging technique that can directly visualize and quantitatively measure tissue elasticity. This article reviewed the MRE technique and its current status.

STUDY ON MECHANICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SINGLE CARDIAC MYOCYTE AND ELASTIC SUBSTRATE

Quantitative investigation on mechanical characteristics of cardiac myocytes has important physiological significance. Based on elastic substrate technique, this paper develops a set of algorithms for high-efficiency cellular traction recovery. By applying a gradient-based digital image correlation method to track randomly distributed fluorescence microbeads on the deformed substrate induced by single cardiac myocyte, high-resolution substrate displacement field can readily be obtained. By using a numerical algorithm based on the integral Boussinesq solution, cell-substrate tractions are reconstructed in a stable and reliable manner. Finally, spatiotemporal dynamics of a single cardiac myocyte is investigated as it adheres to a polyacrylamide elastic substrate.

Advanced imaging and visualization in gastrointestinal disorders

Advanced medical imaging and visualization has a strong impact on research and clinical decision making in gastroenterology. The aim of this paper is to show how imaging and visualization can disclose structural and functional abnormalities of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Imaging methods such as ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), endoscopy, endosonography, and elastography will be outlined and visualization with Virtual Reality and haptic methods. Ultrasonography is a versatile method that can be used to evaluate antral contractility, gastric emptying, transpyloric flow, gastric configuration, intragastric distribution of meals, gastric accommodation and strain measurement of the gastric wall. Advanced methods for endoscopic ultrasound, three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound, and tissue Doppler (Strain Rate Imaging) provide detailed information of the GI tract. Food hypersensitivity reactions including gastrointestinal reactions due to food allergy can be visualized by ultrasonography and MRI. Development of multi-parametric and multi-modal imaging may increase diagnostic benefits and facilitate fusion of diagnostic and therapeutic imaging in the future.

Elastic constants characterization on graphite at 500℃ by the virtual fields method

In this paper the elastic constants of graphite at elevated temperature were experimentally investigated by using the virtual fields method （VFM）. A new method was presented for the characterization of mechanical properties at elevated temperature. The three-point bending tests were performed on graphite materials by an universal testing machine equipped with heating fumace. Based on the heterogeneous deformation fields measured by the digital image correlation （DIC） technique, the elastic constants were then extracted by using VFM. The measurement results of the elastic constants at 500℃ were obtained. The ef- fect on the experimental results was also analyzed. The successful results verify the feasibility of using the proposed method to measure the properties of graphite at high temperature, and the proposed method is believed to have a good potential for further applications.

Quantitative Characterization and Elastic Properties of Interfacial Transition Zone around Coarse Aggregate in Concrete

Backscattered electron images（BSE） obtained by scanning electron microscope was used to quantitatively characterize the microstructure of interfacial transition zone（ITZ） in concrete. Influences of aggregate size（5, 10, 20, and 30 mm）, water to cement ratio（0.23, 0.35 and 0.53） and curing time（from 3d to 90d） on the microstructure of interfacial transition zone between coarse aggregate and bulk cement matrix were investigated. The volume percentage of detectable porosity and unhydrated cement in ITZ was quantitatively analyzed and compared with that in the matrix of various concretes. Nanoindentation technology was applied to obtain the elastic properties of ITZ and matrix, and the elastic modulus of concrete was then calculated based on the Lu ＆ Torquato model and self-consistence scheme by using the ITZ thickness and elastic modulus obtained from this investigation. The experimental results demonstrated that the microstructure and thickness of ITZ in concrete vary with a variety of factors, like aggregate size, water to cement ratio and curing time. The relative low elastic properties of ITZ should be paid attention to, especially for early age concrete.

Effects of Elasticity on Wall Shear Stress in Patient-Specific Aneurysm of Cerebral Artery

The behavior of wall shear stress (WSS) was previously reported in a deformable aneurysm model using fluid-structure interactions. However, these findings have not been validated. In the present study, we examined the effect of elasticity (i.e., deformation) on wall shear stress inside a cerebral aneurysm at the apex of a bifurcation using particle image velocimetry in vitro. The flow model simulated a human patient-specific aneurysm at the apex of the bifurcation of the middle cerebral artery. Flow characteristics by wall elasticity were examined for both elastic and non-deformable aneurysm models with pulsatile blood flow. The absolute temporally- and spatially-averaged WSS along the bleb wall was smaller in the elastic model than that in the non-deformable model. This small WSS may be related to attenuation of the WSS. Further, the WSS gradient had a finite value near the stagnation point of the aneurysm dome. Finally, the WSS gradient near the stagnation point was slightly smaller in the elastic model than that in the non-deformable model. These data suggest that elasticity of the aneurysm wall can affect the progression and rupture of aneurysms via hemodynamic stress.

Tactile Imaging Markers to Characterize Female Pelvic Floor Conditions

The Vaginal Tactile Imager (VTI) records pressure patterns from vaginal walls under an applied tissue deformation and during pelvic floor muscle contractions. The objective of this study is to validate tactile imaging and muscle contraction parameters (markers) sensitive to the female pelvic floor conditions. Twenty-two women with normal and prolapse conditions were examined by a vaginal tactile imaging probe. We identified 9 parameters which were sensitive to prolapse conditions (p < 0.05 for one-way ANOVA and/or p < 0.05 for t-test with correlation factor r from -0.73 to -0.56). The list of parameters includes pressure, pressure gradient and dynamic pressure response during muscle contraction at identified locations. These parameters may be used for biomechanical characterization of female pelvic floor conditions to support an effective management of pelvic floor prolapse.

Elastic Particle Mesh Model and Its Application in Image Segmentation

In this paper, an elastic particle mesh （EPM） model is presented. It can be used like a cover to sketch images. EPM offers two advantages： first, when putting on a sketch image, it helps to repair disconnections on salient features. Second, it hides trivial details in the image, thus has the ability of decreasing over-segmentation when used with watershed transformation.

3D Elastic Registration of Ultrasound Images Based on Skeleton Feature

In order to eliminate displacement and elastic deformation between images of adjacent frames in course of 3D ultrasonic image reconstruction, elastic registration based on skeleton feature was adopt in this paper. A new automatically skeleton tracking extract algorithm is presented, which can extract connected skeleton to express figure feature. Feature points of connected skeleton are extracted automatically by accounting topical curvature extreme points several times. Initial registration is processed according to barycenter of skeleton. Whereafter, elastic registration based on radial basis function are processed according to feature points of skeleton. Result of example demonstrate that according to traditional rigid registration, elastic registration based on skeleton feature retain natural difference in shape for organr s different part, and eliminate slight elastic deformation between frames caused by image obtained process simultaneously. This algorithm has a high practical value for image registration in course of 3D ultrasound image reconstruction.