Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology - Volume 25, issue 3

Authors: Wu, Weiwen | Yu, Hengyong | Wang, Shaoyu | Liu, Fenglin

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The objective of this study is to present and test a new ultra-low-cost linear scan based tomography architecture. Similar to linear tomosynthesis, the source and detector are translated in opposite directions and the data acquisition system targets on a region-of-interest (ROI) to acquire data for image reconstruction. This kind of tomographic architecture was named parallel translational computed tomography (PTCT). In previous studies, filtered backprojection (FBP)-type algorithms were developed to reconstruct images from PTCT. However, the reconstructed ROI images from truncated projections have severe truncation artefact. In order to overcome this limitation, we in this study proposed two backprojection filtering (BPF)-type …algorithms named MP-BPF and MZ-BPF to reconstruct ROI images from truncated PTCT data. A weight function is constructed to deal with data redundancy for multi-linear translations modes. Extensive numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the proposed MP-BPF and MZ-BPF algorithms for PTCT in fan-beam geometry. Qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate that the proposed BPF-type algorithms cannot only more accurately reconstruct ROI images from truncated projections but also generate high-quality images for the entire image support in some circumstances. Show more

Keywords: Image reconstruction, parallel translational computed tomography, backprojection filtration, region-of-interest, data truncation

DOI: 10.3233/XST-16208

Citation: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 487-504, 2017

Authors: Kang, W.G. | Pyo, S.H. | Alkhuraiji, T.S. | Han, B.S. | Kang, C.M.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The King AbdulAziz City for Science & Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to build a 10 MeV, 15 kW linear accelerator (LINAC) for electron beam and X-ray. The accelerator will be supplied by EB Tech, Republic of Korea, and the design and construction of the accelerator building will be conducted in the cooperation with EB Tech. This report presents the shielding analysis of the accelerator building using the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP). In order to improve the accuracy in estimating deep radiation penetration and to reduce computation time, various variance reduction techniques, including the weight window (WW) …method, the deterministic transport (DXTRAN) spheres were considered. Radiation levels were estimated at selected locations in the shielding facility running MCNP6 for particle histories up to 1.0×10+8 . The final results indicated that the calculated doses at all selected detector locations met the dose requirement of 50 mSv/yr, which is the United State Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) requirement. Show more

Keywords: Monte Carlo transport, MCNP, electron linear accelerator, radiation shielding, occupational dose limit, variance reduction

DOI: 10.3233/XST-16196

Citation: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 505-514, 2017

Authors: Mikhailov, I.F. | Baturin, A.A. | Mikhailov, A.I. | Borisova, S.S. | Reshetnyak, M.V. | Galata, D.I.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: A method for urinary iodine diagnostics using a portable energy-dispersion X-ray fluorescent (EDXRF) spectrometer is proposed. The principle of the method consists in excitation of the sample atoms fluorescence by the energy spectrum intentionally formed from the spectrum of an X-ray tube using an optimized X-ray scheme. The optimization by the criterion of the minimum detection limit for L- series iodine fluorescence lines included the calculation of optimal atomic numbers for materials of a re-radiator and a filter, and their thicknesses, the collimation system parameters, and an X-ray tube voltage. Experimentally achieved detection limits were 45 and 75 μg/L by …I-L α and I-L β lines, respectively, at the theoretically extreme value 30 μg/L. This sensitivity is found to be sufficient for urinary iodine diagnostics in the range from 50 to 200 μg/L. The results obtained from different patients have shown the satisfactory convergence for the iodine concentration determination by L α and I-L β fluorescence lines. The simple sample preparation procedure and comparably small sizes of the apparatus allows rapid researches directly in clinical settings. Show more

Keywords: X-ray fluorescence spectrum, selective excitation, urinary iodine, rapid diagnostics.

DOI: 10.3233/XST-16204

Citation: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 515-521, 2017

Authors: Xu, Xianfeng | Li, Zhenzhou | Liu, Jin | Yu, Sha | Wei, Zhaolian

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigate the microRNA expression profiling in endometriosis-associate infertility, and relationship between the microRNA expression and endometrial receptivity evaluated by ultrasound. METHODS: First, miRNA expression profiling difference of ectopic endometrium between 8 endometriosis patients and 6 endometriosis-free patients were compared. Bioinformatics analyses detected 61 differentially expressed (DE) known miRNAs and 57 DE novel miRNAs. Next, other 24 patients were selected for checking the microRNAs in differential expression by RT-PCR. Among them, case and control groups include 14 endometriosis and 10 endometriosis-free infertility patients, respectively. Last, endometrial receptivity of other 20 endometriosis patients was evaluated by ultrasound. …In this group of patients, 12 had high endometrial receptivity, in which infertility is caused by fallopian tube occlusion, and 8 had low endometrial receptivity. The study compared endometrial miRNAs expression between two groups, and also evaluated the relationship between the endometrial miRNAs expression and the endometrial receptivity. RESULTS: First, study indicated that “proteinaceous extracellular matrix,” “laminin binding” and “extracellular matrix binding” were enriched in 6 up-regulated miRNA targets, while “cell proliferation” was enriched in the 4 down-regulated miRNA targets. Second, 10 miRNAs in different expression (miR-1304- 3p, miR-544b, miR-3684, miR-494-5p, miR-4683, miR-6747-3p; miR-3935, miR-4427, miR-652-5p, miR-205-5p) were detected by RT-PCR, and the results showed statistically significant differences between 2 groups in all 10 miRNAs. Third, the expression levels of miR-1304-3p, miR-494-5p, and miR-4427 were different between the two groups with different endometrial receptivity. But for the miR-544b, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided a comprehensive understanding to the current knowledge in the field of miRNAs in endometriosis and the relationship between them and the endometrial receptivity. miRNAs could be used as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic agents for this disease. The combination of ultrasound and miRNAs detection could be a better choice for the diagnosis of infertility in the future. Show more

Keywords: Ectopic endometrium, miRNA, endometrial receptivity, ultrasound

DOI: 10.3233/XST-17286

Citation: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 523-532, 2017