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QC 351 A7 no. 53 / The optical performance of three stereomicroscopes commonly used for photo - interpretation is described in terms of magnification, field of view, and square wave response (SqWR). For a given field size, the SqWR can be used to compare the amount of information in the image of each microscope. The SqWR was determined by scanning a square wave test target at four field positions for each of four field sizes (corresponding to magnifications of 6, 12, 25, and 50X). The measured SqWR was used to evaluate the relative ability of each microscope to perform two typical photointerpretation tasks: (1) detailed viewing of a target, and (2) scanning or searching for a target. For these tasks the Wild M -5 stereomicroscope was found to be somewhat better than the Bausch and Lomb 240 stereomicroscope, and both were found to be superior to the Olympus SZ III stereomicroscope. The SqWR curves are included and can be used to compare the stereo - microscopes for various photointerpretation tasks.

A technique for decomposing the Optical Transfer Function (OTF) into a novel set of basis functions has been developed. The decomposition provides insight into the performance of optical systems containing both wavefront error and apodization, as well as the interactions between the various components of the pupil function. Previously, this technique has been applied to systems with circular pupils with both uniform illumination and Gaussian apodization. Here, systems with annular pupils are explored. In cases of annular pupil with simple defocus, analytic expressions for the OTF decomposition coefficients can be calculated. The annular case is not only applicable to optical systems with central obscurations, but the technique can be extended to systems with multiple ring structures. The ring structures can have constant area as is often found in zone plates and diffractive lenses or the rings can have arbitrary areas. Analytic expressions for the OTF decomposition coefficients again can be determined for ring structures with constant and quadratic phase variations. The OTF decomposition provides a general tool to analyze and compare a diverse set of optical systems.

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"Fluoroscopic imaging devices for interventional radiology and cardiovascular applications have traditionally used image-intensifiers optically coupled to either charge-coupled devices (CCDs) or video pick-up tubes. While such devices provide image quality sufficient for most clinical applications, there are several limitations, such as loss of resolution in the fringes of the image-intensifier, veiling glare and associated contrast loss, distortion, size, and degradation with time. This work is aimed at overcoming these limitations posed by image-intensifiers, while improving on the image quality. System design parameters related to the development of a high-resolution CCD-based imager are presented. The proposed system uses four 8 x 8-cm three-side buttable CCDs tiled in a seamless fashion to achieve a field of view (FOV) of 16 x 16-cm. Larger FOVs can be achieved by tiling more CCDs in a similar manner. The system employs a thallium-doped cesium iodide (CsI:Tl) scintillator coupled to the CCDs by straight (non-tapering) fiberoptics and can be operated in 78, 156 or 234-microns pixel pitch modes. Design parameters such as quantum efficiency and scintillation yield of CsI:Tl, optical coupling efficiency and estimation of the thickness of fiberoptics to provide reasonable protection to the CCD, linearity, sensitivity, dynamic range, noise characteristics of the CCD, techniques for tiling the CCDs in a seamless fashion, and extending the field of view are addressed. The signal and noise propagation in the imager was modeled as a cascade of linear-systems and used to predict objective image quality parameters such as the spatial frequency-dependent modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). The theoretical predictions were compared with experimental measurements of the MTF, NPS and DQE of a single 8 x 8-cm module coupled to a 450-microns thick CsI:Tl at x-ray beam quality appropriate for cardiovascular fluoroscopy. The measured limiting spatial resolution (10% MTF) was 3.9 cy/mm and 3.6 cy/mm along the two orthogonal axes. The measured DQE(0) was ~0.62 and showed no dependence with incident exposure rate over the range of measurement. The experimental DQE measurements demonstrated good agreement with the theoretical estimate obtained using the parallel-cascaded linear-systems model. The temporal imaging properties were characterized in terms of image lag and showed a first frame image lag of 0.9%. The imager demonstrated the ability to provide images of high and uniform spatial resolution, while preserving and potentially improving on DQE performance at dose levels lower than that currently used in clinical practice. These results provide strong support for potential adaptation of this type of imager for cardiovascular and pediatric angiography."

Detectors sensitive to thermal and reflected infrared radiation are widely used for night-vision, communications, thermography, and object tracking among other military, industrial, and commercial applications. System requirements for the next generation of ultra-high-performance infrared detectors call for increased functionality such as large formats (> 4K HD) with wide field-of-view, multispectral sensitivity, and on-chip processing. Due to the low yield of infrared material processing, the development of these next-generation technologies has become prohibitively costly and time consuming. In this work, it will be shown that physics-based numerical models can be applied to predictively simulate infrared detector arrays of current technological interest. The models can be used to a priori estimate detector characteristics, intelligently design detector architectures, and assist in the analysis and interpretation of existing systems. This dissertation develops a multi-scale simulation model which evaluates the physics of infrared systems from the atomic (material properties and electronic structure) to systems level (modulation transfer function, dense array effects). The framework is used to determine the electronic structure of several infrared materials, optimize the design of a two-color back-to-back HgCdTe photodiode, investigate a predicted failure mechanism for next-generation arrays, and predict the systems-level measurables of a number of detector architectures.

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No / Cardiac x-ray detectors are used to acquire moving images in real-time for angiography and interventional procedures. Detective quantum efficiency (DQE) is not generally measured on these dynamic detectors; the required “for processing” image data and control of x-ray settings have not been accessible. By 2016, USA hospital physicists will have the ability to measure DQE and will likely utilize the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard for measuring DQE of dynamic x-ray imaging devices. The current IEC standard requires an image of a tilted tungsten edge test object to obtain modulation transfer function (MTF) for DQE calculation. It specifies the range of edge angles to use; however, it does not specify a preferred method to determine this angle for image analysis. The study aimed to answer the question “will my choice in method impact my results?” Four different established edge angle determination methods were compared to investigate the impact on DQE. Methods: Following the IEC standard, edge and flat field images were acquired on a cardiac flat-panel detector to calculate MTF and noise power spectrum, respectively, to determine DQE. Accuracy of the methods in determining the correct angle was ascertained using a simulated edge image with known angulations. Precision of the methods was ascertained using variability of MTF and DQE, calculated via bootstrapping. Results: Three methods provided near equal angles and the same MTF while the fourth, with an angular difference of 6%, had a MTF lower by 3% at 1.5 mm−1 spatial frequency and 8% at 2.5 mm−1; corresponding DQE differences were 6% at 1.5 mm−1 and 17% at 2.5 mm−1; differences were greater than standard deviations in the measurements. Conclusions: DQE measurements may vary by a significant amount, depending on the method used to determine the edge angle when following the IEC standard methodology for a cardiac x-ray detector. The most accurate and precise methods are recommended for absolute assessments and reproducible measurements, respectively. / Funded by Philips Healthcare, NL, and a University of Leeds Career Development Bursery.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma nova técnica de pré-processamento de imagens mamográficas digitais para melhorar o desempenho dos esquemas computacionais de auxílio ao diagnóstico (CAD) e para auxiliar na detecção precoce do câncer de mama. O método proposto efetua uma restauração nas imagens mamográficas utilizando, em uma primeira etapa, a transformada de Anscombe e o filtro de Wiener para redução do ruído quântico. Posteriormente, é utilizado o filtro inverso da função de transferência de modulação (MTF) do sistema de imagem para realce das estruturas de interesse na mamografia, como as microcalcificações, que podem ser um indicativo de câncer de mama em seu estágio inicial. Imagens mamográficas restauradas pelo método proposto foram utilizadas na avaliação de um esquema CAD para detecção automática de microcalcificações. Os resultados mostraram que o desempenho do esquema CAD apresentou uma melhora significativa quando imagens restauradas foram utilizadas, mesmo para imagens de mamas densas, que resultam normalmente em baixa taxa de detecção devido ao baixo contraste. / This work aims to developing a new technique for pre-processing digital mammographic images in order to improve the performance of computer aided-diagnosis schemes (CAD) and to assist in early detection of breast cancer. The proposed method performs a restoration in mammographic images using in a first step, the Anscombe transform and Wiener filtering to reduce image quantum noise. Subsequently, it was used the inverse modulation transfer function filtering (MTF) considering the imaging system to enhance structures of interest in mammography, such as microcalcifications, which may be an indicative of breast cancer in its early stage. Mammographic images restored by the proposed method were used in the evaluation of a CAD scheme for automatic detection of microcalcifications. The results showed that the performance of the CAD scheme had a significant improvement when restored images were used, even for images of dense breasts, which often results in low detection rate due to low contrast.

O presente trabalho de pesquisa trata da investigação de parâmetros de qualidade aplicados a sistemas de imagem em radiologia odontológica. Para isso, foram levantados parâmetros propostos pela Portaria nº 453 de 1998 da Secretaria de Vigilância Sanitária do Ministério da Saúde em aparelhos de raios X odontológicos e determinadas funções de transferência de modulação (FTM), como método para a avaliação da resolução espacial de sistemas de radiologia odontológica digital. Com base nesses dados, comparou-se três sistemas digitais diretos (DIGORA, DENOPTIX e CygnusRay) e um sistema digital indireto, baseado no scanner Umax PowerLook 1120. Essa comparação evidenciou, para esse caso, a melhor qualidade, em termos de resolução espacial, do sistema indireto estudado e a relativa equivalência dos sistemas digitais entre si, quando comparados em suas resoluções máximas (em número de pontos por polegada). Também foi possível validar o uso do método de simulação computacional para a obtenção da FTM de sistemas radiográficos odontológicos / This work has investigated quality parameters applied to odontologic radiographic image systems. In order to achieve this purpose, parameters related to the Portaria nº 453 of 1998 of Secretaria de Vigilância Sanitária do Ministério da Saúde have been checked and modulation transfer functions (MTF) have been determined. These information has been used to compare three differents direct radiographic images systems (DIGORA, DENOPTIX e CygnusRay) and one indirect, based on scanner Umax PowerLook 1120. The obtained data has showed, in this case, the better performance, in terms of spatial resolution, of the indirect system and the relative equivalency of the direct systems, when configured with the maximum resolution (in term of dpi). The work has validated the computer simulation process in order to generate the MTF of odontologic radiographic image systems