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<p>The project has been carried out at, and in association with, Micronic Laser Systems AB in Täby, Sweden. Micronic Laser Systems, manufacture laser pattern generators for the semiconductor and display markets. Laser pattern generators are used to create photomasks, which are a key component in the microlithographic process of manufacturing microchips and displays. </p><p>An essential problem to all modern semiconductor manufacturing is the constantly decreasing sizes of features and increasing use of resolution enhancement techniques (RET), leading to ever growing sizes of datasets describing the semiconductors. When sizes of datasets reach magnitudes of hundreds of gigabytes, visualisation, navigation and editing of any such dataset becomes extremely difficult. As of today this problem has no satisfying solution. </p><p>The project aims at the proposal of a geometry engine that effectively can deal with the evergrowing sizes of modern semiconductor lithography. This involves a new approach to handling data, a new format for spatial description of the datasets, hardware accelerated rendering and support for multiprocessor and distributed systems. The project has been executed without implying changes to existing data formats and the resulting application is executable on Micronics currently existing hardware platforms. </p><p>The performance of the new viewer system surpasses any old implementation by a varying factor. If rendering speed is the comparative factor, the new system is about 10-20 times faster than its old counterparts. In some cases, when hard disk access speed is the limiting factor, the new implementation is only slightly faster or as fast. And finally, spatial indexing allow some operations that previously lasted several hours, to complete in a few seconds, by eliminating all unnecessary disk-reading operations.</p>

The project has been carried out at, and in association with, Micronic Laser Systems AB in Täby, Sweden. Micronic Laser Systems, manufacture laser pattern generators for the semiconductor and display markets. Laser pattern generators are used to create photomasks, which are a key component in the microlithographic process of manufacturing microchips and displays. An essential problem to all modern semiconductor manufacturing is the constantly decreasing sizes of features and increasing use of resolution enhancement techniques (RET), leading to ever growing sizes of datasets describing the semiconductors. When sizes of datasets reach magnitudes of hundreds of gigabytes, visualisation, navigation and editing of any such dataset becomes extremely difficult. As of today this problem has no satisfying solution. The project aims at the proposal of a geometry engine that effectively can deal with the evergrowing sizes of modern semiconductor lithography. This involves a new approach to handling data, a new format for spatial description of the datasets, hardware accelerated rendering and support for multiprocessor and distributed systems. The project has been executed without implying changes to existing data formats and the resulting application is executable on Micronics currently existing hardware platforms. The performance of the new viewer system surpasses any old implementation by a varying factor. If rendering speed is the comparative factor, the new system is about 10-20 times faster than its old counterparts. In some cases, when hard disk access speed is the limiting factor, the new implementation is only slightly faster or as fast. And finally, spatial indexing allow some operations that previously lasted several hours, to complete in a few seconds, by eliminating all unnecessary disk-reading operations.

Att utvärdera samband mellan subjektivt skattad smärta och transmittorsubstanser med magnetresonansspektroskopi Bakgrund: Smärta är en komplex upplevelse, som involverar olika delar av hjärnan. Regionen anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) är kopplad till upplevelsen av smärta och delas in i ett flertal mindre regioner, till exempel den pregenuala regionen (pgACC) och dorsala regionen (dACC). För att studera olika metaboliter och transmittorsubstanser kan magnetresonansspektroskopi (MRS) användas. MRS och sekvensen MEGA-PRESS kan mäta specifika transmittorsubstanser såsom Gamma-AminoButyric Acid (GABA) och glutamin-glutamat (Glx).  Motiv: Det finns kunskapsluckor kring hur individens subjektiva smärtupplevelse i relation till transmittorsubstanser objektivt kan mätas och utvärderas.  Syfte: Att med MRS och MEGA-PRESS undersöka GABA+ och Glx-nivåer i hjärnområdena pgACC och dACC samt undersöka samband mellan smärtkänslighet och GABA+ och Glx i pgACC och dACC.  Metod: En kvantitativ, experimentell pilotstudie genomfördes med tio friska deltagare. Initialt skannades deltagarna i MRT och smärtstimulerades, sedan skattade de den upplevda smärtan med hjälp av Numeric Rating Scale. MRS och tekniken MEGA-PRESS användes för att mäta transmittorsubstansnivåerna.   Resultat: Studien visade att det fanns en statistiskt signifikant negativ korrelation mellan skattad smärtintensitet och uppmätta nivåer av GABA+ i pgACC (Spearman´s rho = -0,67; p = 0,04). Det fanns även ett statistiskt signifikant positivt samband mellan skattad smärtintensitet och uppmätta nivåer av Glx i dACC (Spearman´s rho =0,73; p=0,02). Vidare fanns signifikant skillnad i Glx mellan pgACC och dACC och en icke signifikant skillnad i GABA+.  Konklusion: Sammanfattningsvis visar resultatet att MRS och MEGA-PRESS kan kvantifiera transmittorsubstanser vid utvärdering av smärtkänslighet och att det finns en positiv korrelation mellan Glx och skattad smärtintensitet, samt en negativ korrelation mellan GABA+ och skattad smärtintensitet. Detta kan ge fördjupad insikt i individens smärtupplevelse och kan främja den individuella behandlingen. Genom att ta hänsyn till sambandet mellan smärta och transmittorsubstanser kan det bidra till ökad förståelse kring individens smärtupplevelse. / To evaluate the relation between subjectively estimated pain and neurotransmitters using magnetic resonance spectroscopy  Background: Pain is a complex experience that involves different parts of the brain. The region anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is connected to the experience of pain and can be divided into several smaller areas, such as the pregenual region (pgACC) and the dorsal region (dACC). To study different metabolites and neurotransmitters, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can be used. MRS and the sequence (MEGA-PRESS) can measure specific neurotransmitters such as Gamma-AminoButyric Acid (GABA) and glutamin-glutamate (Glx).  Motive: There are knowledge gaps about how the individual's subjective pain experience in relation to neurotransmitters can be objectively measured and evaluated.  Aim: Using MRS and MEGA-PRESS to examine levels of GABA+ and Glx in the brain regions pgACC and dACC and to examine the relationship between pain sensitivity and GABA+ and Glx in pgACC and dACC.  Methods: A quantitative, experimental pilot study was conducted which included ten healthy participants. The participants were initially scanned in the MRI and subjected to pain-stimulation, thereafter the participants rated the perceived pain using Numeric Rating Scale. MRS and the sequence MEGA-PRESS were used to quantify the neurotransmitters of interest.  Result: There was a significant, negative correlation between rated pain intensity and measured GABA+ levels in pgACC (Spearman´s rho = -0,67; p = 0,04). There was also a significant, positive correlation between rated pain intensity and measured levels of Glx in dACC (Spearman´s rho =0,73; p=0,02). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in Glx between pgACC and dACC as well as a non-significant difference in GABA+ between regions.  Conclusion: In summary, the result shows that MRS and MEGA-PRESS can quantify neurotransmitters when evaluating pain sensitivity and that there is a positive correlation between Glx and estimated pain intensity, and also a negative correlation between GABA+ and estimated pain intensity. This can provide a deeper insight into the individual’s pain experience and promote individual treatment. Further research regarding the meaning of the different brain regions when measuring neurotransmitters is recommended.