No description available.

<p>Real-time global illumination has been a very important topic and is widely used in game industry. Previous offline rendering requires a large amount of time to converge and reduce the noise generated in Monte Carlo method. Thus, it cannot be easily adapted in real-time rendering. Using voxels in the field of global illumination has become a popular approach. While a naïve voxel grid occupies huge memory in video card, a data structure called <i>sparse voxel octree</i> is often implemented in order to reduce memory cost of voxels and achieve efficient ray casting performance in an interactive frame rate. </p> <p>However, rendering of voxels can cause block effects due to the nature of voxel. One solution is to increase the resolution of voxel so that one voxel is smaller than a pixel on screen. But this is usually not feasible because higher resolution results in higher memory consumption. Thus, most of the global illumination methods of SVO (sparse voxel octree) only use it in visibility test and radiance storage, rather than render it directly. Previous research has tried to incorporate SVO in ray tracing, radiosity methods and voxel cone tracing, and all achieved real-time frame rates in complex scenes. However, most of them only focus on static scenes and does not consider dynamic updates of SVO and the influence of it on performance.</p> <p>In this thesis, we will discuss the tradeoff of multiple classic real-time global illumination methods and their implementations using SVO. We will also propose an efficient approach to dynamic update SVO in animated scenes. The deliverables will be implemented in CUDA 11.0 and OpenGL.</p>

Voxel cone tracing (VCT) is a rendering method designed to approximate global illumination in a fast and efficient way. Global illumination means to render not only the direct lighting of a scene but also light from indirect sources, simulating how light in the real-world tend to bounce around and illuminate even the areas that are occluded from a direct light source. Rendering accurate global illumination in real-time has for a long time been a challenge in the field of computer graphics. This effect is most accurately simulated through expensive algorithms such as path tracing, where individual rays of light are traced from the pixels of a camera as they bounce around the scene and sample the environment. More efficient methods tend to rely on static image-based approaches, where global illumination is pre-rendered and baked into textures. VCT presents itself as a middle ground of the two, trading some of the accuracy for improved performance and the ability to work in a fully dynamic environment where objects and light sources may be moved around. VCT computes global illumination by volumetrically sampling a lower resolution voxel-based representation of the rendered scene by tracing cones.   The aim of this thesis is to further investigate the performance and image quality of VCT through an implementation and evaluation method. A VCT algorithm has been implemented that is capable of real-time global illumination in a dynamic setting, utilizing physically based rendering for improved image quality and a sparse 3D texture for efficient voxel storage. Performance was then measured in terms of rendering speed and memory usage. Image quality was evaluated through comparison with accurate path traced reference images. The results show that VCT is a promising rendering method for achieving a real-time approximation of global illumination, but that it also suffers from some issues regarding the image quality.

The subject of this thesis is an implementation of realistic rendering of voxel scenes using a graphics card. This work explains the fundamentals of realistic rendering and voxel representation of visual data. It also presents selected hierarchical structures usable for acceleration and describes the desing of a solution focusing on the representation of voxel data and their rendering. The thesis describes libraries created as part of the project and algorithms. It also evaluates time and memory requirements of the application along with graphical output.

Proton MR spectroscopy is a tool that provides quantified brain bioprofiles. Two methods exist: single- and multi-voxel spectroscopy. No studies compare their clinical validity in vivo. Gadolinium based MR contrast agents are used to improve lesional conspicuity. Adverse events are reported. Brain deposition occurs following administration in people and murine models. In dogs, doses are anecdotal and deposition is not described. Eight normal dogs underwent MRI at 3 Tesla with two methods of spectroscopy and were administered varying doses of gadodiamide. No differences were seen between single- and multi-voxel spectroscopy when interrogating identical regions of interest. Brains were harvested and evaluated for gadolinium depots using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Gadolinium was found in the brains of all dogs with dose dependency. Further, adequate normal brain conspicuity was seen at a dose of 0.5 mmol/kg. Thus, clinical trials of gadolinium chelated contrast agents at this dose are recommended.

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For synthetic data generation with concave collision objects, two physics simu- lations techniques are investigated; convex decomposition of mesh models for globally concave collision results, used with the physics simulation library Bullet, and a GPU implemented rigid body solver using spherical decomposition and impulse based physics with a spatial sorting-based collision detection. Using the GPU solution for rigid body physics suggested in the thesis scenes con- taining large amounts of bodies results in a rigid body simulation up to 2 times faster than Bullet 2.83.

Primary Progressive aphasia (PPA) is a disorder characterized by gradual decline in language functions, with relative sparing of other cognitive abilities. This behavioral profile results from neurodegenerative disease that preferentially affects language cortex. As is the case in aphasia resulting from stroke, any of several critical language processing domains may be affected in PPA, including syntax, semantics, phonology, and orthography. In stroke-induced aphasia, traditional lesion mapping approaches have provided important insight into the localization of cortical regions supporting these domains. Specifically, left perisylvian cortex has been implicated in syntactic and phonological aspects of language, whereas left extrasylvian cortical regions are associated with lexical-semantic and orthographic functions. The goal of the present study was to seek converging evidence for the role of left hemisphere cortical regions in language using a voxel-based imaging technique in individuals with PPA. Fifteen individuals with progressive aphasia and fifteen normal controls were given a comprehensive language battery comprising tasks in the domains of syntax, semantics, phonology, and orthography. A subset of patients and all normal controls underwent high-resolution structural MRI scanning. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to characterize patterns of regional cortical atrophy in the patients relative to controls and to correlate language tasks with gray matter volumes. Results confirm a key role for left perisylvian cortex in phonological and syntactic processes, and indicate that left temporal regions are critically involved in semantic processes. Findings shed light on the veracity of the "primary systems" hypothesis of written language, which posits that written language impairments arise from core cognitive deficits affecting semantic and phonological systems.

<div> <p> Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders, characterized by kinetic tremor in the upper extremities with additional cranial tremor often present in the neck or jaw. While it is well established that ET is primarily a cerebellar disorder, recent investigations have shown more widespread pathological effects throughout the brain. Furthermore, the neurodegenerative nature of ET is still disputed and requires additional investigation. Additionally, the link between ET and Parkinson’s disease (PD) is of special interest, as it can be challenging to clinically differentiate these diseases.</p> <p> While post-mortem studies have helped to further the pathological understanding of these diseases, non-invasive in-vivo techniques allow for more accurate diagnosis in the clinic. With a more accurate diagnosis comes a more targeted treatment, and hopefully an improved remediation of the disease. My thesis seeks to further investigate the neurodegenerative hypothesis of ET as well as explore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers for potential differences in ET and PD. </p> <p>These aims will be accomplished in three steps. First, gray matter volume loss in the cerebellum was investigated using voxel-based morphometry and the Spatially Unbiased Infra-Tentorial Template (SUIT) atlas on a lobule level. High resolution 3D T1-weighted MRI images were acquired on 47 ET cases and 36 controls. The cerebellum was segmented into 34 lobules using the SUIT atlas. Percent gray matter was calculated as the ratio of lobule gray matter volume divided by total lobule volume. No significant differences were identified between ET cases and controls in any of the 34 lobules. However, nine lobules had significantly decreased percent gray matter in ET cases with head or jaw tremor (n = 27) compared to controls. Also, 11 lobules had significantly decreased percent gray matter in ET cases with voice tremor (n = 22) compared to controls. This result confirms, with increased regional accuracy, gray matter volume loss in the cerebellum of ET cases.</p> <p>Second, gray matter volume loss beyond the cerebellum, in the cerebrum, was investigated using voxel-based morphometry. High resolution 3D T1-weighted MRI images were acquired on 47 ET cases and 36 controls for processing in SPM12. The processing steps of SPM12 were updated to include a higher resolution atlas and set of tissue probability maps to optimize the segmentation and normalization of each subject image. After segmentation, normalization, and smoothing, a voxel-wise statistical analysis was performed to identify clusters of gray matter volume in ET cases compared to controls. ET cases showed decreased gray matter volume in the bilateral superior temporal region and the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. These results, in combination with previous work provide support of wide-spread neurodegeneration in ET using optimized methodology.</p> <p>Third, we applied T2* mapping to determine relative iron concentrations in the substantia nigra (SN) and globus pallidus (GP) in ET and PD cases. Three separate studies were independently investigated to validate the reproducibility and detectability of group differences using T2* mapping. The first study (ET study) acquired T2* maps on 21 ET cases and 12 matched controls, the second study (PD study 1) acquired T2* maps on 10 PD cases and 7 controls, and the third study (PD study 2) acquired T2* maps on 21 PD cases and 17 controls. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually placed in the SN and GP for each subject and group differences were calculated independently for each study using a linear regression model with age and sex as covariates. A significant decrease in T2* was found in PD study 1 and PD study 2 in the right SN in PD cases compared to their respective controls, indicating increased iron deposition. No significant difference was found in the ET group compared to their respective controls in the SN. No significant differences were found in any of the three studies in the GP. These results provide evidence for a difference in brain iron regulation in the pathology of ET and PD.</p> <p>Together, these thesis aims provide additional evidence in support of the neurodegenerative hypothesis of ET using updated methodology and present a quantitative imaging difference between groups of ET and PD cases. </p> </div> <br>

Prior research has suggested that any cortical volume (CV) abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) need to be further explored by examination of the two determinants of CV, that being cortical thickness (CT) and pial surface area (PSA; Murphy, Beecham, Craig, & Ecker, 2011). The current study suggests that the two determinants of CV should be explored even in the presence of null CV findings, if structure-function analyses are significant (i.e., bi-lateral precentral gyrus and neuropsychological motor test) as demonstrated in the current sample (see Duffield et al., 2013). The only significant anatomic finding was reduced CT in the left frontal motor regions (primarily left precentral gyrus), which also corresponded to the only significant relationship between a motor variable (i.e., grooved pegboard test) and motor region-of-interest (ROI) where ASD had a stronger relationship than typically developing controls (TDC; ASD > TDC). Left hemisphere biased CT group differences has been shown to have the highest classification accuracy (i.e., designation of ASD versus TDC) of morphological parameters (Ecker et al., 2010), yet PSA has been shown to have far greater modulation of CV abnormalities. This is particularly true for subthreshold PSA (Ecker et al., 2013). These prior findings are not only consistent with the current motor ROI findings, but also provide an explanatory framework for the functional neuroanatomy of a generally worse left handed performance (i.e., non-dominant hand) for ASD compared to controls in a generally right handed dominant sample (no significant group differences on handedness). The only significant motor ROI finding was in the left hemisphere (i.e., ipsilateral to worse left handed performance), but subthreshold PSA findings in the right precentral were found and likely provide explanatory power of motor performances in the aggregate, despite a lack of significant statistical differences in a specific motor ROI individually.