This thesis deals with the cartilage imaging using magnetic resonance. At first, there is mentioned physical principle of the magnetic resonance phenomenon and the most commonly used excitation sequences, followed by the description of the 9.4 T MR imaging system Bruker BioSpec 94/30 USR, which was used for measurement in the practical part. The next part is dedicated to the composition of cartilages and describes the temporomandibular joint, due to its suitability as an object for cartilage imaging. The series of MR scans of temporomandibular joint were taken with different acquisition parameters and evaluated by program designed through the MATLAB software. The program can be used for viewing scanned images, evaluating their contrast and determining the T1 relaxation time of the tissues by creating T1 maps.

The development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and autonomous driving is one of the main research fields in the area of vehicle development today. Initially the research in this area focused on analyzing and predicting driving maneuvers on highways. Nowadays, a vast amount of research focuses on urban areas as well. Driving maneuvers in urban areas are more complex and therefore more difficult to predict than driving maneuvers on highways. The goals of predicting and understanding driving maneuvers are to reduce accidents, to improve traffic density, and to develop reliable algorithms for autonomous driving. Driving behavior during different driving maneuvers such as turning at intersections, emergency braking or lane changes are analyzed. This thesis focuses on the driving behavior around lane changes and thus the prediction of lane changes in the urban area is applied with an Echo State Network. First, existing methods with a special focus on input variables and results were evaluated to derive input variables with regard to lane change and no lane change sequences. The data for this first analyses were obtained from a naturalistic driving study. Based on theses results the final set of variables (steering angle, turn signal and gazes to the left and right) was chosen for further computations. The parameters of the Echo State Network were then optimized using the data of the naturalistic driving study and the final set of variables. Finally, left and right lane changes were predicted. Furthermore, the Echo State Network was compared to a feedforward neural network. The Echo State Network could predict left and right lane changes more successful than the feedforward neural network. / Fahrerassistenzsysteme und Algorithmen zum autonomen Fahren stellen ein aktuelles Forschungsfeld im Bereich der Fahrzeugentwicklung dar. Am Anfang wurden vor allem Fahrmanöver auf der Autobahn analysiert und vorhergesagt, mittlerweile hat sich das Forschungsfeld auch auf den urbanen Verkehr ausgeweitet. Fahrmanöver im urbanen Raum sind komplexer als Fahrmanöver auf Autobahnen und daher schwieriger vorherzusagen. Ziele für die Vorhersage von Fahrmanövern sind die Reduzierung von Verkehrsunfällen, die Verbesserung des Verkehrsflusses und die Entwicklung von zuverlässigen Algorithmen für das autonome Fahren. Um diese Ziele zu erreichen, wird das Fahrverhalten bei unterschiedlichen Fahrmanövern analysiert, wie z.B. beim Abbiegevorgang an Kreuzungen, bei der Notbremsung oder beim Spurwechsel. In dieser Arbeit wird der Spurwechsel im urbanen Straßenverkehr mit einem Echo State Network vorhergesagt. Zuerst wurden existierende Methoden zur Spurwechselvorhersage bezogen auf die Eingaben und die Ergebnisse bewertet, um danach die spurwechselbezogenen Variableneigenschaften bezüglich Spurwechsel- und Nicht-Spurwechselsequenzen zu analysieren. Die Daten, die Basis für diese ersten Untersuchungen waren, stammen aus einer Realfahrstudie. Basierend auf diesen Resultaten wurden die finalen Variablen (Lenkwinkel, Blinker und Blickrichtung) für weitere Berechnungen ausgewählt. Mit den Daten aus der Realfahrstudie und den finalen Variablen wurden die Parameter des Echo State Networks optimiert und letztendlich wurden linke und rechte Spurwechsel vorhergesagt. Zusätzlich wurde das Echo State Network mit einem vorwärtsgerichteten neuronalen Netz verglichen. Das Echo State Network konnte linke und rechte Spurwechsel erfolgreicher vorhersagen als das vorwärtsgerichtete neuronale Netz.

<p>Cnior Mobile AB i Lindesberg utvecklar en mobil trygghetstelefon för äldre. Detta examensarbete går ut på att utforma en handsfree-enhet för denna. Handsfree-enheten ska integreras i larmknappen, som bärs av användaren runt handleden, och har kontakt med telefonen via blåtandsradio. I examensarbetet ingår att välja ut lämplig högtalare och mikrofon, hitta lösningar för smuts- och vattentålighet samt att lösa problem med ekon och bakgrundsstörningar.</p><p>En högtalare hittades som uppfyllde kraven för smuts- och vattentålighet samtidigt som den hade utmärkt frekvensgång för återgivning av tydligt tal. Vattenavrinning från högtalaren löstes genom att ett sinussvep sänds ut från högtalaren varje gång ett samtal ska kopplas upp. På så sätt pressar ljudtrycket ut vattnet från handledsknappens kavitet. Olika utformningar av ljudhålen i handledsknappens skal provades. Den bästa lösningen för vattenavrinningen var att använda sju stycken runda hål med 1,3 mm i diameter. En ljudtrycksmätning säkerställde att ljudtrycket inte blev lidande av denna utformning av ljudhålen.</p><p>Ekosläckning och bakgrundsstörningsundertryckning sköts av GSM-modulen i trygghetsmobilen. I ekosläckningens manual finns beskrivet hur ekosläckningens 24 parametrar kan justeras för att passa olika applikationer. Endast en mindre ändring av de rekommenderade parametervärdena behövdes för att ekosläckning och bakgrundsstörningsundertryckning skulle fungera tillfredställande.</p><p>Eftersom mikrofonernas datablad visade på så snarlika egenskaper överlämnades mikrofonvalet till företaget, då det kan vara klokt att låta priset avgöra.</p>

Cnior Mobile AB i Lindesberg utvecklar en mobil trygghetstelefon för äldre. Detta examensarbete går ut på att utforma en handsfree-enhet för denna. Handsfree-enheten ska integreras i larmknappen, som bärs av användaren runt handleden, och har kontakt med telefonen via blåtandsradio. I examensarbetet ingår att välja ut lämplig högtalare och mikrofon, hitta lösningar för smuts- och vattentålighet samt att lösa problem med ekon och bakgrundsstörningar. En högtalare hittades som uppfyllde kraven för smuts- och vattentålighet samtidigt som den hade utmärkt frekvensgång för återgivning av tydligt tal. Vattenavrinning från högtalaren löstes genom att ett sinussvep sänds ut från högtalaren varje gång ett samtal ska kopplas upp. På så sätt pressar ljudtrycket ut vattnet från handledsknappens kavitet. Olika utformningar av ljudhålen i handledsknappens skal provades. Den bästa lösningen för vattenavrinningen var att använda sju stycken runda hål med 1,3 mm i diameter. En ljudtrycksmätning säkerställde att ljudtrycket inte blev lidande av denna utformning av ljudhålen. Ekosläckning och bakgrundsstörningsundertryckning sköts av GSM-modulen i trygghetsmobilen. I ekosläckningens manual finns beskrivet hur ekosläckningens 24 parametrar kan justeras för att passa olika applikationer. Endast en mindre ändring av de rekommenderade parametervärdena behövdes för att ekosläckning och bakgrundsstörningsundertryckning skulle fungera tillfredställande. Eftersom mikrofonernas datablad visade på så snarlika egenskaper överlämnades mikrofonvalet till företaget, då det kan vara klokt att låta priset avgöra.

Current quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technics offer biomarkers that allow performing non-invasive longitudinal studies for the follow up of therapeutic trials in neuromuscular disorders (NMD). In contrast to fat degeneration, the mechanisms of inflammation/oedema/necrosis and fibrosis are characteristic signs of disease activity, which makes their quantification a promising source of crucial biomarkers for longitudinal studies. This thesis work consisted on the implementation of more precise quantitative NMR methods adapted to the clinical study of skeletal muscle (SKM) for : (i) detection and quantification of sites of disease activity by T2-mapping of muscle water ; (ii) investigation of the different pathophysiological mechanisms underlying T2 alterations ; and (iii) Detection and quantification of muscle fibrosis. We implemented two methods for T2 mapping of muscle water. The first one is based on a multi-spin-echo sequence du type CPMG. In this method the 1H-NMR signals from water and lipids are acquired simultaneously. The acquired data are fitted to a tri-exponential model, in which water and fat signals are separated by exploring the T2 difference between water and fat. This method allows extraction of muscle water T2-value in the presence of fat infiltration. The second method is based on a " partially spoiled steady state free precession " (pSSFP) sequence. In contrast to the first method, which demands a sophisticated post-treatment of images acquired at 17 different echo-times, with the pSSFP a T2-mapping is extracted from two 3D data sets. 3D acquisition is compatible with spectrally selective water excitation, which eliminates signal contribution from lipids. Both methods were validated experimentally on patients and healthy subjects. The results demonstrated their capacity to detect and quantify disease activity sites. This 2 works have been published in two international journals : Azzabou, de Sousa, Araujo, & Carlier, 2014. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. DOI 10.1002/jmri.24613 (in press); et de Sousa, Vignaud, Araujo, & Carlier . 2012. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 67:1379-1390. Although it was shown to reveal disease activity, mono-exponential T2 of muscle water is non-specific to what concerns the mechanisms underlying its alterations. It has been long known that T2 relaxation in SKM tissue is multi-exponential. This is currently accepted to reveal anatomical compartmentation of myowater. We implemented a method for localized spectroscopic CPMG acquisition. CPMG data respect echo-time sampling and signal to noise ration limits for allowing robust multiexponential analysis. This work allowed us to establish a compartmentation model that perfectly explains the multi-exponential T2 relaxation observed in SKM tissue. This work was published in the " Biophysical Journal " (Araujo, Fromes & Carlier 2014. New Insights on skeletal muscle tissue compartments revealed by T2 NMR relaxometry. (In press)). Pilot studies performed in patients show promising results and suggest potential application of the method in clinical studies. Fibrosis starts with an excessive accumulation of intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT). We have explored the " Ultrashort time to echo " (UTE) method with the aim to detect and characterize the signal from IMCT. In a first study we characterized in vivo a short T2 component (~500 µs) in SKM, and we collected evidences suggesting that this component might reflect IMCT. Then we implemented a methodology that allowed imaging this short component in SKM tissue for the first time.

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a new cancer thermal therapy method which has achieved encouraging results in clinics recently. However, the lack of a temperature monitoring makes it hard to apply widely, safely and efficiently. Conventional ultrasonic temperature estimation based on echo strain suffers from artifacts caused by signal distortion over time, leading to poor estimation and visualization of the 2D temperature map. This thesis presents a novel model-based stochastic framework for ultrasonic temperature estimation, which combines the temperature information from the ultrasound images and a theoretical model of the heat diffusion. Consequently the temperature estimation is more consistent over time and its visualisation is improved. There are 3 main contributions of this thesis related to: improving the conventional echo strain method to estimate temperature, developing and applying approximate heat models to model temperature, and finally combining the estimation and the models. First in the echo strain based temperature estimation, a robust displacement estimator is first introduced to remove displacement outliers caused by the signal distortion over time due to the thermo-acoustic lens effect. To transfer the echo strain to temperature more accurately, an experimental method is designed to model their relationship using polynomials. Experimental results on a gelatine phantom show that the accuracy of the temperature estimation is of the order of 0.1 ◦C. This is better than results reported previously of 0.5 ◦C in a rubber phantom. Second in the temperature modelling, heat models are derived approximately as Gaussian functions which are mathematically simple. Simulated results demonstrate that the approximate heat models are reasonable. The simulated temperature result is analytical and hence computed in much less than 1 second, while the conventional simulation of using finite element methods requires about 25 minutes under the same conditions. Finally, combining the estimation and the heat models is the main contribution of this thesis. A 2D spatial adaptive Kalman filter with the predictive step defined by the shape model from the heat models is applied to the temperature map estimated from ultrasound images. It is shown that use of the temperature shape model enables more reliable temperature estimation in the presence of distorted or blurred strain measurements which are typically found in practice. The experimental results on in-vitro bovine liver show that the visualisation on the temperature map over time is more consistent and the iso-temperature contours are clearly visualised.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Tato disertační práce analyzuje artefakty v NMR obrazech. V lékařské praxi mohou artefakty zabránit diagnostice patologických tkání, a proto je třeba tyto nežádoucí jevy odstranit. Vzhledem k nutnosti vyloučit artefakty způsobené nehomogenitou statického magnetického pole jsou v dané souvislosti diskutovány také nové možnosti měření deformací. Práce popisuje metodu pro měření základního pole i RF pole a jejich nehomogenit na základě měření MR obrazů T2 a T2*. Metoda kombinuje akviziční postupy pro spinové a gradientní echo za účelem rozlišení relaxačních časů T2 a T2*. V této souvislosti také vyvstává potřeba provést exponenciální aproximaci relaxačního procesu. Experimentální výsledky pro plastové i měděné vzorky jsou prezentovány v příslušné části práce. Pokud jde o vlastní členení popisovaných jevů, je třeba uvést, že významný problém představují artefakty způsobené magnetickou susceptibilitou. Různé hodnoty magnetické vodivosti na rozhraní mezi dvěma materiály mohou způsobit deformaci magnetického pole, přičemž může dojít i k úplné ztrátě signálu.

O objetivo deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento e implementação de metodologias de imagens por Ressonância Magnética Nuclear, para diminuição do tempo de aquisição, já que nos exames clínicos convencionais esse tempo é muito superior ao utilizado nessas seqüências, que é da ordem de T_ 2 , essas seqüências são baseadas na varredura única do espaço-k, convencionalmente denominada Echo Planar Imaging. Os propósitos de utilização dessa metodologia compreendem desde exames clínicos convencionais, em que se pretende analisar, em projetos futuros, eventos não periódicos de curta duração e a dinâmica dos sistemas biológicos estudados, até imagens de cavidades utilizando gases hiperpolarizados. As técnicas implementadas em comparação com as inicialmente propostas por Masfield apresentam uma diferença que é a inexistência do pulso de RF de inversão e, com isso, o tempo de duração das seqüências implementadas é ainda menor. Apenas não se deve esperar muito da qualidade das imagens sem o pós-processamento, uma vez que esse trabalho já está em andamento. / The objective of this work is the development and implementation of methodologies of images for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, for reduction of the time of acquisition, since in the conventional clinical examinations this time is very superior to the used one in these sequences, that are of the order of T_ 2 , these sequences is based on the only sweepings of the space-k, conventionally called Echo Planar Imaging. The intentions of use of this methodology understand since conventional clinical examinations, where if it intends to analyze, in future projects, not periodic events of short duration and the dynamics of the biological systems studied, until socket images using hiperpolarizados gases. The techniques implemented in comparison with initially the proposals for Masfield present a difference that is the inexistence of the pulse of RF of inversion and, with this, the time of duration of the implemented sequences are still lesser. But if it does not have to wait very of the quality of the images without the after-processing, a time that this work already is in progress.

Estudos de acumulações de gás raso e os efeitos destes fenômenos nas ondas sísmicas são objeto de trabalho de diversos pesquisadores em diferentes partes do planeta. As respostas das acumulações de gás nas ondas sísmicas se diferenciam pelas diversas frequências dos equipamentos sísmicos e trazem informações importantes no que concerne à formação e evolução dos ambientes em questão. O Canal da Bertioga se situa no litoral Sul do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, e consiste em um ambiente de características estuarinas que conecta a plataforma continental, em sua desembocadura oceânica, e a Baixada Santista em sua desembocadura continental. Trata-se de um sistema de baixa hidrodinâmica, com profundidades máximas de 18m, e sofre influência de seus afluentes oriundos da serra do mar. Na presente pesquisa, foram utilizadas as fontes Pinger (24 kHz), Chirp (2 - 8 kHz) e Boomer (0,5 - 2 kHz) operando simultaneamente para o levantamento de dados geofísicos e amostragens superficiais com um amostrador de mandíbulas do tipo Van Veen. Foram também obtidos cinco testemunhos sedimentares, dos quais foram obtidos dados de taxa de sedimentação. O levantamento sísmico permitiu a identificação de diversas fácies acústicas de gás nos sedimentos assim como padrões de escape. Em função da identificação dos padrões de ocorrência destas formações de gás se pôde dividir o Canal da Bertioga em três setores: Estreito, Largo do Candinho e Canal Leste. No trecho denominado de Estreito as Coberturas acústicas foram predominantes com pouca variação de cota (± 3 m), os escapes de gás foram menos ocorrentes se comparados às outras áreas e se deu especialmente em forma de Pináculos de Turbidez. No Largo do Candinho predominaram as Sombras Negras e Coberturas Acústicas muito rasas, em torno de 1 a 2 m do substrato, com grande ocorrência de escape de gás do tipo Plumas Acústicas. Por fim, O Canal Leste apresentou as maiores variações nas cotas das Coberturas Acústicas, com ocorrências mais profundas (8 m em média) e escapes de gás em forma de Plumas Intrassedimentares. Foram definidas unidades estratigráficas deposicionais que contribuíram para a proposição de uma compartimentação do canal, em função dos padrões de ocorrência de gás. A fonte boomer permitiu identificar quatro unidades estratigráficas No Canal Leste, duas no Largo do Candinho e apenas uma no Estreito, neste último trecho a penetração do sinal foi especialmente comprometida em função da constante ocorrência das Coberturas Acústicas. Diante destas evidências pôde-se concluir que o Canal da Bertioga evoluiu como dois sistemas distintos, os quais foram separados durante as regressões marinhas e conectados novamente em trato de mar alto. A mudança brusca das cotas de ocorrência das Coberturas Acústicas entre o Canal Leste e o Largo do Candinho, além de evidências de falhamentos neotectônicos do Pleistoceno tardio sugerem que a conexão destes ambientes (Estreito + Largo do Candinho e Canal Leste) pode ter sido abrupta. / Studies of shallow gas accumulations and the effects of these components in the seismic waves are studied by several researchers in different parts of the world. The responses of the gas accumulations in the seismic waves are distinguished by different frequencies of seismic equipment and provide important information regarding the formation and evolution of the environments. The Channel of Bertioga is located on the southern coast of São Paulo, Brazil, and it\'s an environment with estuarine characteristics that connects the Sea of Bertioga to its oceanic mouth, and the city of Santos to it\'s continental mouth. This is a low hydrodynamic system with maximum depths of 18m, and is influenced by its tributaries from the Serra do Mar mountains. The present study was conducted with the sources Pinger (24kHz), Chirp (2 - 8 kHz) and Boomer (0.5 - 2 kHz) operating simultaneously for the geophysical survey data, surficial sediment sampling was made with a Van Veen grab. Five cores were also acquired, of which the sedimentation rate was obtained. The seismic survey allowed the identification of several buried gas facies and seepages. Regarding the patterns in the occurrence of gas formations the Bertioga Channel could be split into three sectors: The Narrow Sector, Candinho and Eastern Sector. In the Narrow part, the Acoustic Blankings were predominant with little variation in elevation (± 3 m), seepages occurred less compared to other areas and were mostly consisting of Turbidity Pinnacles. In the Candinho sector, Black Shadows and Acoustic Blankets about 1 to 2m of the substrate prevailed, with high occurrence of seepages in the form of Acoustic Plumes. Finally, the Eastern Sector had the highest changes in the levels of Acoustic Blankets, with the deepest occurrences (8m on average) and seepages in the form of Intrasedimentary Plumes. Some stratigraphic units were defined, which contributed to the previous division by the gas occurrences. The Booomer source allowed the identification of four Stratigraphic Units inthe Eastern Channel, two in the Candinho sector and only one Stratigraphic Unit in the Narrow Sector. In the last sector signal penetration was particularly compromised due to the constant occurrence of Acoustic Blankets. Given this evidence, it was concluded that the Bertioga Channel evolved as two distinct systems, which were separated during the marine regressions and re-connected during marine transgressions. The sudden change in the depths of occurrence in Acoustic Blankets between the Eastern Channel and Candinho, and evidence of neotectonic faulting in the Late Pleistocene suggest that the connection of these environments (Narrow Sector + Candinho and Canal East) may have been abrupt.