<p>This dissertation discusses the theoretical methods for quantum scattering in the context of x-ray scattering from electrons and classical scattering in the context of collisions between Rydberg atoms.</p> <p><br></p> <p>A method for describing non-relativistic x-ray scattering from bound electrons is presented. The approach described incorporates the full spatial dependence of the incident x-ray field and is non-perturbative in the incident x-ray field. The x-ray scattering probability obtained by numerical solution for the case of free-electrons is bench-marked with well known analytical free-electron results.</p> <p><br></p> <p>A recent investigation by Fuchs \emph{et al.} [Nat. Phys. 11, 964 (2015)] revealed an anomalous frequency shift of at least 800 eV in non-linear Compton scattering of high-intensity x-rays by electrons in solid beryllium. The x-ray scattering approach described is used to explore the role of binding energy, band structure, electron-electron correlation and a semi-Compton channel in the frequency shift of scattered x-rays for different scattered angles. The results of the calculation do not exhibit an additional redshift for the scattered x-rays beyond the non-linear Compton shift predicted by the free-electron model. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The interference between Compton scattering and nonlinear Compton scattering from a two-color field in the x-ray regime is theoretically analyzed for bound electrons. A discussion of the underlying phase shifts and the dependence of the interference effect on the polarizations of the incident and outgoing fields are presented. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The problem of using x-ray scattering to image the dynamics of an electron in a bound system is examined. Previous work on imaging electronic wave-packet dynamics with x-ray scattering revealed that the scattering patterns deviate substantially from the notion of instantaneous momentum density of the wave packet. Here we show that the scattering patterns can provide clear insights into the electronic wave packet dynamics if the final state of the scattered electron and the scattered photon momentum are determined simultaneously. The scattering probability is shown to be proportional to the modulus square of the Fourier transform of the instantaneous electronic spatial wave function weighted by the final state of the electron.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Collisional ionization between Rydberg atoms is examined. The dependence of the ionization cross section on the magnitude and the direction of orbital angular momentum of the electrons and the direction of the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector of the electrons is studied. The case of exchange ionization is examined and its dependence on the magnitude of angular momentum of the electrons is discussed.</p> <p><br></p>

The newly emerging technology of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has the potential to revolutionise molecular imaging. XFELs generate very intense X-ray pulses and predictions suggest that they may be used for structure determination to atomic resolution even for single molecules. XFELs produce femtosecond pulses that outrun processes of radiation damage and permit the study of structures at room temperature and of structural dynamics. While the first demonstrations of flash X-ray diffractive imaging (FXI) on biological particles were encouraging, they also revealed technical challenges. In this work we demonstrated how some of these challenges can be overcome. We exemplified, with heterogeneous cell organelles, how tens of thousands of FXI diffraction patterns can be collected, sorted, and analysed in an automatic data processing pipeline. We improved  image resolution and reduced problems with missing data. We validated, described, and deposited the experimental data in the Coherent X-ray Imaging Data Bank. We demonstrated that aerosol injection can be used to collect FXI data at high hit ratios and with low background. We reduced problems with non-volatile sample contaminants by decreasing aerosol droplet sizes from ~1000 nm to ~150 nm. We achieved this by adapting an electrospray aerosoliser to the Uppsala sample injector. Mie scattering imaging was used as a diagnostic tool to measure positions, sizes, and velocities of individual injected particles. XFEL experiments generate large amounts of data at high rates. Preparation, execution, and data analysis of these experiments benefits from specialised software. In this work we present new open-source software tools that facilitates prediction, online-monitoring, display, and pre-processing of XFEL diffraction data. We hope that this work is a valuable contribution in the quest of transitioning FXI from its first experimental demonstration into a technique that fulfills its potentials.

La cristallisation sous tension (SIC) du caoutchouc naturel (NR) a fait l’objet d’un nombre considérable d’études depuis sa découverte il y a près d’un siècle. Cependant, il existe peu d’informations dans la littérature concernant le comportement du caoutchouc à des vitesses de sollicitation proches des temps caractéristiques de cristallisation. L’objectif de cette thèse est alors de contribuer à la compréhension du phénomène de cristallisation sous tension grâce à des essais dynamiques à grandes vitesses. Pour répondre à cet objectif, nous avons développé une machine de traction permettant de déformer des échantillons d’élastomères à des vitesses de sollicitation pouvant aller jusqu’à 290s-1. Les essais ont été réalisés sur quatre NR avec des taux de soufre variables, deux NR chargés comportant des taux de noir de carbone différents. Nous avons également étudié un matériau synthétique à base de polyisoprène (IR) afin de comparer ses performances à celle du NR. Les essais dynamiques étant relativement difficiles à interpréter, un travail conséquent a donc été d’abord réalisé à basse vitesse. En outre, l’approche expérimentale proposée a été couplée à une approche thermodynamique de la SIC. Les mécanismes généraux associés à la cristallisation que nous identifions sont les suivants: lors d’une traction, la cristallisation consiste en l’apparition de populations cristallines conditionnée par l’hétérogénéité de réticulation des échantillons. Cette cristallisation semble nettement accélérée dès lors que ce cycle est réalisé au-dessus de la déformation de fusion. Nous attribuons ce phénomène à un effet mémoire dû à un alignement permanent des chaînes. Enfin, l’effet de la vitesse est décrit théoriquement en intégrant un terme de diffusion des chaînes dans la cinétique de SIC. Cette approche couplée à des essais mécaniques suggère que la SIC est essentiellement gouvernée par la cinétique de nucléation. Lors des tests dynamiques, la combinaison de l’effet mémoire et d’une accélération de la fusion pendant le cycle entraine une nette diminution voire une disparition de l’hystérèse cristalline. En outre, l’auto-échauffement, qui augmente progressivement avec la fréquence du cycle, tend à supprimer l’effet mémoire en provoquant le passage du cycle en dessous de la déformation de fusion. Lors de ces essais dynamiques, la SIC semble favorisée pour le matériau le moins réticulé. Nous attribuons cet effet au blocage d’enchevêtrements jouant le rôle de sites nucléants pour la SIC. Le matériau chargé semble avoir une moins bonne aptitude à cristalliser à hautes vitesses, par rapport à l’élastomère non chargé, en raison d’un auto-échauffement important à l’interface entre charges et matrice. Enfin, nous notons une convergence des cinétiques de cristallisation du caoutchouc naturel et synthétique à grande déformation et grande vitesse de sollicitation, que nous attribuons à la prédominance du terme énergétique d’origine entropique dans la cinétique de nucléation. / Strain induced crystallization (SIC) of Natural Rubber (NR) has been the subject of a large number of studies since its discovery in 1929. However, the literature is very poor concerning the study of SIC when samples are deformed with a stretching time in the range of the SIC characteristic time (around 10msec-100msec). Thus, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of the SIC phenomenon thanks to dynamic tensile tests at high strain rates. To meet this goal, we have developed a dynamic tensile test machine allowing stretching samples of elastomers at strain rates up to 290 s-1. The tests are carried out on four NR with different sulphur amount, two NR with different carbon black filler amounts. We also studied a synthetic rubber made of polyisoprene chains (IR) able to crystallize under strain. Dynamic tests are relatively difficult to interpret; a significant work has thus been first performed at slow strain rate. Moreover, the experiments are coupled with a thermodynamic approach. First, the general mechanisms associated to the crystallization are identified as follows: during mechanical loading or during cooling in the deformed state, SIC is the result of successive appearance of crystallite populations whose nucleation and growth depend on the local network density. Crystallization is enhanced when the cycle is performed above the melting stretching ratio. This phenomenon is attributed to a memory effect due to a permanent alignment of the chains. Finally, the effect of the strain rate is theoretically described thanks to a diffusion term. This approach, coupled with experiments suggests that SIC is mainly governed by the nucleation kinetics. For the dynamic test, the combination of the memory effect and the acceleration of the melting during the cycle lead to a reduction or even disappearance of the crystalline hysteresis. In addition, self-heating, which progressively increases with the frequency of the cycle, causes the delay of the melting stretching ratio. This well explains why the crystallinity index decreases at the minimum stretching ratio of the dynamic cycles when the frequency increases. We finally compared the ability of our different rubbers to crystallize at high strain rates. SIC is enhanced for the weakly crosslinked rubber. This might be related to the dynamics of its free entanglements, these ones acting as supplementary crosslinks at high strain rates. Then, a filled rubber is compared to the unfilled one. We found that the filled sample has a lower ability to crystallize at high strain rates as compared to the unfilled one. This is likely due to the strong self-heating at the interface between the fillers and the rubbery matrix. Finally, we observe a convergence of crystallization kinetics in natural and synthetic rubbers at high strains and high strain rates. This is attributed to the predominance of the entropic energy in the nucleation kinetics in these experimental conditions.

During catheterized x-ray interventions the patient and medical staff is exposed to scatter radiation, as a consequence of tissue interactions. Ionizing radiation for medical purpose is potentially dangerous and can cause malignancy, skin damage and more. Studies have suggested an increase in the prevalence of eye lens cataract, thyroid cancer and left sided brain tumors in doctors. Therefore, it is mandatory to reduce the radiation dose in medicine, a principle known as ALARA (as low as Reasonably Achievable). Lead aprons, collars and shieldings are safety precautions to protect the team in the operating room. The x-ray equipment and surgical techniques are constantly evolving and the interventions become more complex which may increase the x-ray dose. Although x-ray imaging is required in interventional procedures endeavors of reducing radiation exposure to staff is of high interest. There is a need to increase the awareness about scatter radiation and radiation protection efforts are gaining momentum. Initiative to train a dose reducing behavior by education and awareness are key documents within the European Union’s guidelines on Radiation protection. The aims of this thesis were to create a 3D model for representation of real-time exposure and accumulated scatter radiation to staff performing interventional x-ray procedures and identify parameters that affect the scatter radiation. Extensive measurements were made with real time dosimeters while irradiating an anthropomorphic phantom. For five lateral C-arm projections, 68 - 80 data points each were used to measure scatter dose distribution around the patient. In the typical operator position, the effect of craniocaudal projection angle, patient size, field size, image detector height and pulse rate on scatter radiation dose was also investigated. It was possible to create a 3D model from interpolated measurement data that can generate dose rate with promising results. Six out of eight modelled doses deviated +/- 26.6 % from the validation cases. A model that delivers relative dose is an intuitive approach in education for interventional x-ray radiation safety. The staff position in relation to the x-ray source and the patient size have a significant correlation to the dose rate. Additional measurements are needed to ensure the reliability of the model. This work completes the effect of scatter radiation distribution around the patient table, which is not yet evaluated as thoroughly by other authors.

Nous étudions l'effet thermo-électrique et les phénomènes qui en résultent, forces et les courants thermoélectriques (TEC) sous l'action d'un champ magnétique externe imposé lors de la solidification d'alliages métalliques. Nous avons utilisé des simulations numériques, des observations directes et des examens de laboratoire. L'interaction entre les courants thermo-électriques et le champ magnétique externe lors de la solidification se produit des forces électromagnétiques et donc un écoulement du métal liquide. Le résultat est nommé effet magnétique thermoélectrique (TEME). Les formulations de TEC, les forces et les équations gouvernant les écoulements TEM sont donnés. Afin de mieux prouver l'existence de la TEME, des expériences par méthode d'imagerie à rayons X menées au synchrtron ont été utilisées pour observer in-situ et en temps réel l'action directe des forces et les mouvements TEM pendant la solidification directionnelle des alliages Al-Cu. Nous avons montré la cohérence raisonnable entre les calculs analytiques et des simulations numériques qui ont exécuté avec les mêmes conditions de traitement. En outre, la capacité des écoulements thermo-électriques à influer sur la microstructure lors de la solidification directionnelle sont expérimentalement évaluées dans les autres cas en réalité. La solidification directionnelle d'une seule phase de formation des alliages Al-Cu sous divers champs magnétiques montre que les écoulements TEM sont capables de modifier la forme de l'interface liquide-solide conduisant à des morphologies différentes. L'effet le plus intense se produit dans différents champs magnétiques pour différentes morphologies, en effet, le champ magnétique élevé est nécessaire pour la morphologie a une plus petite longueur typique. Ceci est en accord avec le comportement des vitesses de TEM qui varient avec les champs magnétiques imposés ainsi que les différentes échelles de longueur typique. Cette variation est confirmée par des simulations numériques 3D. Nous montrons que les dendrites primaires et à l'avant de la phase eutectique, peuvent être modifiés par les mouvements TEM et les forces de TEM dans le solide pour améliorer la croissance de la phase de Al2Cu facettes primaire pendant la solidification des Al-40wt%Cu hypereutectiques. Le mécanisme de renforcement de la croissance de la phase facettes Al2Cu est confirmé par la transmission électronique observation au microscope, et la raison de la formation de la structure de croissance de couple de Al-26wt% Cu alliages est vérifiée par le test de l'analyse thermique différentielle. Ainsi, nous pouvons affirmer que le champ magnétique élevé facilite la formation de la structure de la croissance de couple pour hypoeutectiques alliages Al-Cu, et favorise la croissance de la phase Al2Cu primaire pour hypereutectiques Al-Cu alliages. / We have investigated the thermoelectric magnetic (TEM) forces and flows resulting from the interaction between the internal thermoelectric currents (TEC) and the imposed external magnetic field during solidification. Numerical simulations, direct observations and experimental examinations were undertaken. As the natural phenomenon, TEC was discovered almost 200 years ago, therefore, our introduction begins from then on. It is shown that the interaction between TEC and external magnetic field during solidification in the cont put forth new interesting phenomena in the context of a rising field named Electromagnetic Processing of Materials. After that, it is discussed how the TEC appear and the TEM effect (TEME, referring to both TEM forces and flows) behaves at the liquid-solid interface in directional solidification under external magnetic field. Meanwhile, formulations of TEC, TEM forces and flows are given, and numerical simulations of TEME are performed to visually display the TEM forces and flows. In order to further prove the existence of TEME, in situ synchrotron X-ray imaging method was used to observe the direct resultant of TEM forces and flows during directionally solidifying the Al-Cu alloys. The observations show reasonable consistency with the analytical calculations and numerical simulations performed with the same process conditions. Except confirmation the existence of TEME, its abilities to affect the microstructure during directional solidification are experimentally investigated in the more realistic cases. The single phase forming Al-Cu alloys are directionally solidified under various magnetic fields, which shows that TEM flows are capable to modify the shape of liquid-solid interface, and the most intensive affect occurs under different magnetic fields for different interface morphologies. Indeed, the smaller the typical length of the morphology is the higher the magnetic field is needed. This agrees with the estimating regulation of the velocity of TEM flows changing with magnetic fields for different typical length scales, and is confirmed by 3D numerical simulations. Directional solidification of multiphase forming Al-Cu alloys under various magnetic fields shows that the mushy zone length (distance between the front of primary dendrites and eutectic phases) varies with the magnetic fields, which can be attributed to the redistribution of rejected solutes by TEM flows. In addition, apparent enhanced growth of the primary faceted Al2Cu phase is founded when Al-40wt%Cu alloys are solidified under sufficient high magnetic fields, this should be ascribed to the TEM forces acting on the solid because strains are able to lead the formation of defects and thus benefit to the growth of faceted phase. This is confirmed by comparison of the dislocations in samples solidified without and with a 10T magnetic field via transmission electron microscopy observation. In another aspect, an almost entire couple growth structure is achieved when Al-26wt%Cu alloys are directionally solidified under a 4T magnetic field, which can be explained by the effect of high magnetic field on changing the nucleation temperature and growth velocity of each phase. Moreover, the differential thermal analysis test on the nucleation temperature of both α-Al and eutectic phases verified this explanation. Therefore, we conclude that high magnetic field facilitates the formation of couple growth structure for hypoeutectic Al-Cu alloys, reversely, enhances the growth of primary dendrite for hypereutectic Al-Cu alloys.

Le développement de sources cohérentes de rayons X offre de nouvelles possibilités pour visualiser les structures biologiques à différentes échelles en exploitant la réfraction des rayons X. La cohérence des sources synchrotron de troisième génération permettent des implémentations efficaces des techniques de contraste de phase. Une des premières mesures des variations d’intensité dues au contraste de phase a été réalisée en 1995 à l’Installation Européenne de Rayonnement Synchrotron (ESRF). L’imagerie de phase couplée à l’acquisition tomographique permet une imagerie tridimensionnelle avec une sensibilité accrue par rapport à la tomographie standard basée sur absorption. Cette technique est particulièrement adaptée pour les échantillons faiblement absorbante ou bien présentent des faibles différences d’absorption. Le contraste de phase a ainsi une large gamme d’applications, allant de la science des matériaux, à la paléontologie, en passant par la médecine et par la biologie. Plusieurs techniques de contraste de phase aux rayons X ont été proposées au cours des dernières années. Dans la méthode de contraste de phase basée sur le phénomène de propagation l’intensité est mesurée pour différentes distances de propagation obtenues en déplaçant le détecteur. Bien que l’intensité diffractée puisse être acquise et enregistrée, les informations de phase du signal doivent être "récupérées" à partir seulement du module des données mesurées. L’estimation de la phase est donc un problème inverse non linéaire mal posé et une connaissance a priori est nécessaire pour obtenir des solutions stables. Si la plupart de méthodes d’estimation de phase reposent sur une linéarisation du problème inverse, les traitements non linéaires ont été eux très peu étudiés. Le but de ce travail était de proposer et d’évaluer des nouveaux algorithmes, prenant en particulier en compte la non linéarité du problème direct. Dans la première partie de ce travail, nous présentons un schéma de type Landweber non linéaire itératif pour résoudre le problème de la récupération de phase. Cette approche utilise l’expression analytique de la dérivée de Fréchet de la relation phase-intensité et de son adjoint. Nous étudions aussi l’effet des opérateurs de projection sur les propriétés de convergence de la méthode. Dans la deuxième partie de cette thèse, nous étudions la résolution du problème inverse linéaire avec un algorithme en coordonnées ondelettes basé sur un seuillage itératif. Par la suite, les deux algorithmes sont combinés et comparés avec une autre approche non linéaire basée sur une régularisation parcimonieuse et un algorithme de point fixe. Les performances des algorithmes sont évaluées sur des données simulées pour différents niveaux de bruit. Enfin, les algorithmes ont été adaptés pour traiter des données réelles acquises en tomographie de phase à l’ESRF à Grenoble. / The development of highly coherent X-ray sources offers new possibilities to image biological structures at different scales exploiting the refraction of X-rays. The coherence properties of the third-generation synchrotron radiation sources enables efficient implementations of phase contrast techniques. One of the first measurements of the intensity variations due to phase contrast has been reported in 1995 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Phase imaging coupled to tomography acquisition allows threedimensional imaging with an increased sensitivity compared to absorption CT. This technique is particularly attractive to image samples with low absorption constituents. Phase contrast has many applications, ranging from material science, paleontology, bone research to medicine and biology. Several methods to achieve X-ray phase contrast have been proposed during the last years. In propagation based phase contrast, the measurements are made at different sample-to-detector distances. While the intensity data can be acquired and recorded, the phase information of the signal has to be "retrieved" from the modulus data only. Phase retrieval is thus an illposed nonlinear problem and regularization techniques including a priori knowledge are necessary to obtain stable solutions. Several phase recovery methods have been developed in recent years. These approaches generally formulate the phase retrieval problem as a linear one. Nonlinear treatments have not been much investigated. The main purpose of this work was to propose and evaluate new algorithms, in particularly taking into account the nonlinearity of the direct problem. In the first part of this work, we present a Landweber type nonlinear iterative scheme to solve the propagation based phase retrieval problem. This approach uses the analytic expression of the Fréchet derivative of the phase-intensity relationship and of its adjoint, which are presented in detail. We also study the effect of projection operators on the convergence properties of the method. In the second part of this thesis, we investigate the resolution of the linear inverse problem with an iterative thresholding algorithm in wavelet coordinates. In the following, the two former algorithms are combined and compared with another nonlinear approach based on sparsity regularization and a fixed point algorithm. The performance of theses algorithms are evaluated on simulated data for different noise levels. Finally the algorithms were adapted to process real data sets obtained in phase CT at the ESRF at Grenoble.

La reconstruction en tomographie discrète de la microstructure de l’os joue un role très important pour le diagnostic de l’ostéoporse, une maladie des os très fréquente. Le diagnostic clinique est basé sur l’absortiométrie duale de rayons X. Avec la tomographie de rayons X, une résolution spatiale élevée avec des images reconstruites in vivo requiert une dose d’irradiation élevée et un temps de balayage long, ce qui est dangereux pour le patient. Une des méthodes pour résoudre ce problème est de limiter le nombre de projections. Cependant, avec cette méthode le problème de reconstruction devient mal posé. Deux types de régularisation par Variation Totale minimisées avec la méthode Alternate Direction of Minimization Method (ADMM) et deux schémas basés sur les méthodes de régularisation Level-set sont appliquées à deux images d’os expérimentales acquises avec un synchrotron (pixel size: 15 μm). Des images de tailles variées et avec différents niveaux de bruit Gaussien additifs ajoutés aux projections sont utlisées pour étudier l’efficacité des méthodes de régularisation. Des minima locaux sont obtenus avec ces méthodes déterministes. Une approche globale d’optimisation est nécessaire pour améliorer les résultats. Des perturbations stochastiques peuvent être un moyen très utile pour échapper aux minima locaux. Dans une première approche, une équation différentielle stochastique basée sur la régularisation level-set est étudiée. Cette méthode améliore les résultats de reconstruction mais ne modifie que les frontières entre les régions 0 et 1. Ensuite une équation aux dérivées partielles stochastique est obtenue avec la régularisation TV pour améliorer la méthode stochastique level-set. A la fin de notre travail, nous avons étendu la méthode de régularisation à des images 3D avec des données réelles. Cette algorithme a été implémenté avec RTK. Nous avons aussi étendu l’approche level-set utilisée pour la tomographie binaire au cas multi-level. / Discrete tomography reconstruction of bone microstructure is important in diagnosis of osteoporosis. One way to reduce the radiation dose and scanning time in CT imaging is to limit the number of projections. This method makes the reconstruction problem highly ill-posed. A common solution is to reconstruct only a finite number of intensity levels. In this work, we investigate only binary tomography reconstruction problem. First, we consider variational regularization methods. Two types of Total Variation (TV) regularization approaches minimized with the Alternate Direction of Minimization Method (ADMM) and two schemes based on Level-set (LS) regularization methods are applied to two experimental bone cross-section images acquired with synchrotron micro-CT. The numerical experiments have shown that good reconstruction results were obtained with TV regularization methods and that level-set regularization outperforms the TV regularization for large bone image with complex structures. Yet, for both methods, some reconstruction errors are still located on the boundaries and some regions are lost when the projection number is low. Local minima were obtained with these deterministic methods. Stochastic perturbations is a useful way to escape the local minima. As a first approach, a stochastic differential equation based on level-set regularization was studied. This method improves the reconstruction results but only modifies the boundaries between the 0 and 1 regions. Then partial stochastic differential equation obtained with the TV regularization semi-norm were studied to improve the stochastic level-set method. The random change of the boundary are performed in a new way with the gradient or wavelet decomposition of the reconstructed image. Random topological changes are included to find the lost regions in the reconstructed images. At the end of our work, we extended the TV regularization method to 3D images with real data on RTK (Reconstruction Toolkit). And we also extended the level-set to the multi-level cases.

Les travaux de cette thèse s’inscrivent dans le cadre du planning de traitements minimalement invasifs des lésions des artères coronaires. Le cardiologue réalise un examen coronarographique, puis dans la continuité, une angioplastie transluminale. L’angiographie rotationnelle à rayons X permet de visualiser sous différentes incidences 2D la lumière des artères coronaires sur plusieurs cycles cardiaques et aussi d’obtenir une reconstruction 3D+T des arbres coronaires. A partir de cette séquence, notre objectif est de déterminer automatiquement une incidence optimale 2D du segment sténosé compatible avec les angles du C-arm afin d’aider le cardiologue lors de l’intervention.Différentes étapes sont considérées pour calculer la position angulaire optimale du C-arm. Afin de suivre la zone de lésion durant le cycle cardiaque, une première méthode est proposée pour mettre en correspondance tous les arbres de la séquence 3D+T. Tout d’abord, un appariement deux à deux des arbres successifs est réalisé afin de construire un arbre d’union. Ces derniers sont ensuite fusionnés afin d’obtenir un arbre mosaïque représentant l’arbre le plus complet de la séquence. L’utilisation de mesures de similarités géométriques et hiérarchiques ainsi que l’insertion de nœuds artificiels permet de prendre en compte les différents mouvements non-rigides des artères coronaires subits au cours du cycle cardiaque et les variations topologiques dû à leurs extractions. Cet appariement nous permet de proposer une deuxième méthode afin d’obtenir une vue angiographique 2D optimale de la zone de lésion tout le long du cycle cardiaque. Cette incidence est proposée spécifiquement pour trois types de région d’intérêt (segment unique, segment multiple ou bifurcation) et est calculée à partir de quatre critères (raccourcissement, chevauchement interne et externe ou angle d’ouverture de bifurcation). Une vue 2D déployée du segment projeté avec le moins de superposition avec les structures vasculaires avoisinantes est obtenue. Nous donnons également la possibilité au cardiologue d’avoir une incidence optimale privilégiant soit le déploiement du stent ou soit le guidage d’outils de la racine de l’arbre à la zone sténosée. Nos différents algorithmes ont été évalués sur une séquence réelle de 10 phases segmentées à partir d’un CT et de 41 séquences simulées. / The thesis work deals with the planning of minimally invasive surgery of coronary artery lesions. The physician performs a coronarography following by a percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. The X-ray rotational angiography permits to visualize the lumen artery under different projection angles in several cardiac cycles. From these 2D projections, a 3D+T reconstruction of coronary arteries can be obtained. Our goal is to determine automatically from this 3D+T sequence, the optimal angiographic viewing angle of the stenotic segment. Several steps are proposed to compute the optimal angular position of the C-arm. Firstly, a mosaic-based tree matching algorithm of the 3D+T sequence is proposed to follow the stenotic lesion in the whole cardiac cycle. A pair-wise inexact tree matching is performed to build a tree union between successive trees. Next, these union trees are merged to obtain the mosaic tree which represents the most complete tree of the sequence. To take into account the non-rigid movement of coronary arteries during the cardiac cycle and their topology variations due to the 3D reconstruction or segmentation, similarity measures based on hierarchical and geometrical features are used. Artificial nodes are also inserted. With this global tree sequence matching, we propose secondly a new method to determine the optimal viewing angle of the stenotic lesion throughout the cardiac cycle. This 2D angiographic view which is proposed for three regions of interest (single segment, multiple segment or bifurcation) is computed from four criteria: the foreshortening, the external and internal overlap and the bifurcation opening angle rates. The optimal view shows the segment in its most extended and unobstructed dimension. This 2D view can be optimal either for the deployment of the stent or for the catheter guidance (from the root to the lesion). Our different algorithms are evaluated on real sequence (CT segmentation) and 41 simulated sequences.

Investigations of soft matter using ultrashort high intensity pulses have been made possible through the advent of X-ray free-electrons lasers. The last decade has seen the development of a new type of protein crystallography where femtosecond dynamics can be studied, and single particle imaging with atomic resolution is on the horizon. The pulses are so intense that any sample quickly turns into a plasma. This thesis studies the ultrafast transition from soft matter to warm dense matter, and the implications for structural determination of proteins.                    We use non-thermal plasma simulations to predict ultrafast structural and electron dynamics. Changes in atomic form factors due to the electronic state, and displacement as a function of temperature, are used to predict Bragg signal intensity in protein nanocrystals. The damage processes started by the pulse will gate the diffracted signal within the pulse duration, suggesting that long pulses are useful to study protein structure. This illustrates diffraction-before-destruction in crystallography. The effect from a varying temporal photon distribution within a pulse is also investigated. A well-defined initial front determines the quality of the diffracted signal. At lower intensities, the temporal shape of the X-ray pulse will affect the overall signal strength; at high intensities the signal level will be strongly dependent on the resolution. Water is routinely used to deliver biological samples into the X-ray beam. Structural dynamics in water exposed to intense X-rays were investigated with simulations and experiments. Using pulses of different duration, we found that non-thermal heating will affect the water structure on a time scale longer than 25 fs but shorter than 75 fs. Modeling suggests that a loss of long-range coordination of the solvation shells accounts for the observed decrease in scattering signal. The feasibility of using X-ray emission from plasma as an indicator for hits in serial diffraction experiments is studied. Specific line emission from sulfur at high X-ray energies is suitable for distinguishing spectral features from proteins, compared to emission from delivery liquids. We find that plasma emission continues long after the femtosecond pulse has ended, suggesting that spectrum-during-destruction could reveal information complementary to diffraction.

No description available.