Development of Three-Dimensional Distribution Visualization Technology for Boron Using Energy Resolved Neutron-Imaging System (RADEN)

Author(s):  
Yuta Abe ◽  
Yusuke Tsuchikawa ◽  
Tetsuya Kai ◽  
Yoshihiro Matsumoto ◽  
Joseph D. Parker ◽  
...  

Abstract Boron carbide is used as a neutron-absorbing material in Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), producing borides that are twice as hard as oxides (such as UO2 and ZrO2). The high neutron absorption of boron affects the evaluation of re-criticality during the process of debris retrieval. Therefore, it is important not only to determine the presence of boron but also to investigate the distribution of boron inside the material in a non-destructive manner during decommissioning. To address the uncertainties in the core material relocation behavior of boiling water reactor (BWR) during a severe accident (SA), solidified melt specimens of a simulated fuel assembly were prepared by plasma heating. If core material melting and relocation (CMMR) specimens can be used to estimate the B distribution in 1F Unit-3, that will provide valuable information in the decommissioning of 1F. To address this, the authors focused on the energy-resolved neutron-imaging system, RADEN, which utilizes a wide energy range, from meV to keV. This is an innovative three-dimensional analysis technology for boride distribution that affects the evaluation of hardness and re-criticality. In the calibration standard samples (ZrxB1-x and FexB1-x), there was a good correlation between boron concentration and the energy-dependence of the cross sections of cold and epithermal neutrons. In the CMMR specimens, boron distribution was confirmed from the contrast difference between cold and epithermal neutrons. In the future, the results of calibration standard samples will be applied to the results of CMMR specimens. With this method, three-dimensional boron distribution will be measured, and the understanding of boride distribution 1F Unit-3 will be improved, which may be reflected in an improved SA code.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Abe ◽  
Tetsuya Kai ◽  
Yusuke Tsuchikawa ◽  
Yoshihiro Matsumoto ◽  
Joseph D. Parker ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu-zhou Li ◽  
Zhi-wen Liang ◽  
Yi Cao ◽  
Ting-ting Cao ◽  
Hong Quan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Tumor motion may compromise the accuracy of liver stereotactic radiotherapy. In order to carry out a precise planning, estimating liver tumor motion during radiotherapy has received a lot of attention. Previous approach may have difficult to deal with image data corrupted by noise. The iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm is widely used for estimating the rigid registration of three-dimensional point sets when these data were dense or corrupted. In the light of this, our study estimated the three-dimensional (3D) rigid motion of liver tumors during stereotactic liver radiotherapy using reconstructed 3D coordinates of fiducials based on the ICP algorithm. Methods Four hundred ninety-five pairs of orthogonal kilovoltage (KV) images from the CyberKnife stereo imaging system for 12 patients were used in this study. For each pair of images, the 3D coordinates of fiducial markers inside the liver were calculated via geometric derivations. The 3D coordinates were used to calculate the real-time translational and rotational motion of liver tumors around three axes via an ICP algorithm. The residual error was also investigated both with and without rotational correction. Results The translational shifts of liver tumors in left-right (LR), anterior-posterior (AP),and superior-inferior (SI) directions were 2.92 ± 1.98 mm, 5.54 ± 3.12 mm, and 16.22 ± 5.86 mm, respectively; the rotational angles in left-right (LR), anterior-posterior (AP), and superior-inferior (SI) directions were 3.95° ± 3.08°, 4.93° ± 2.90°, and 4.09° ± 1.99°, respectively. Rotational correction decreased 3D fiducial displacement from 1.19 ± 0.35 mm to 0.65 ± 0.24 mm (P<0.001). Conclusions The maximum translational movement occurred in the SI direction. Rotational correction decreased fiducial displacements and increased tumor tracking accuracy.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2858
Author(s):  
Kelly Ka-Lee Lai ◽  
Timothy Tin-Yan Lee ◽  
Michael Ka-Shing Lee ◽  
Joseph Chi-Ho Hui ◽  
Yong-Ping Zheng

To diagnose scoliosis, the standing radiograph with Cobb’s method is the gold standard for clinical practice. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging, which is radiation-free and inexpensive, has been demonstrated to be reliable for the assessment of scoliosis and validated by several groups. A portable 3D ultrasound system for scoliosis assessment is very much demanded, as it can further extend its potential applications for scoliosis screening, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment outcome measurement, and progress prediction. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of a newly developed portable 3D ultrasound imaging system, Scolioscan Air, for scoliosis assessment using coronal images it generated. The system was comprised of a handheld probe and tablet PC linking with a USB cable, and the probe further included a palm-sized ultrasound module together with a low-profile optical spatial sensor. A plastic phantom with three different angle structures built-in was used to evaluate the accuracy of measurement by positioning in 10 different orientations. Then, 19 volunteers with scoliosis (13F and 6M; Age: 13.6 ± 3.2 years) with different severity of scoliosis were assessed. Each subject underwent scanning by a commercially available 3D ultrasound imaging system, Scolioscan, and the portable 3D ultrasound imaging system, with the same posture on the same date. The spinal process angles (SPA) were measured in the coronal images formed by both systems and compared with each other. The angle phantom measurement showed the measured angles well agreed with the designed values, 59.7 ± 2.9 vs. 60 degrees, 40.8 ± 1.9 vs. 40 degrees, and 20.9 ± 2.1 vs. 20 degrees. For the subject tests, results demonstrated that there was a very good agreement between the angles obtained by the two systems, with a strong correlation (R2 = 0.78) for the 29 curves measured. The absolute difference between the two data sets was 2.9 ± 1.8 degrees. In addition, there was a small mean difference of 1.2 degrees, and the differences were symmetrically distributed around the mean difference according to the Bland–Altman test. Scolioscan Air was sufficiently comparable to Scolioscan in scoliosis assessment, overcoming the space limitation of Scolioscan and thus providing wider applications. Further studies involving a larger number of subjects are worthwhile to demonstrate its potential clinical values for the management of scoliosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angika Bulbul ◽  
Joseph Rosen

AbstractPartial aperture imaging system (PAIS) is a recently developed concept in which the traditional disc-shaped aperture is replaced by an aperture with a much smaller area and yet its imaging capabilities are comparable to the full aperture systems. Recently PAIS was demonstrated as an indirect incoherent digital three-dimensional imaging technique. Later it was successfully implemented in the study of the synthetic marginal aperture with revolving telescopes (SMART) to provide superresolution with subaperture area that was less than one percent of the area of the full synthetic disc-shaped aperture. In the study of SMART, the concept of PAIS was tested by placing eight coded phase reflectors along the boundary of the full synthetic aperture. In the current study, various improvements of PAIS are tested and its performance is compared with the other equivalent systems. Among the structural changes, we test ring-shaped eight coded phase subapertures with the same area as of the previous circular subapertures, distributed along the boundary of the full disc-shaped aperture. Another change in the current system is the use of coded phase mask with a point response of a sparse dot pattern. The third change is in the reconstruction process in which a nonlinear correlation with optimal parameters is implemented. With the improved image quality, the modified-PAIS can save weight and cost of imaging devices in general and of space telescopes in particular. Experimental results with reflective objects show that the concept of coded aperture extends the limits of classical imaging.


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