EANM dosimetry committee series on standard operational procedures: a unified methodology for 99mTc-MAA pre- and 90Y peri-therapy dosimetry in liver radioembolization with 90Y microspheres

The aim of this standard operational procedure is to standardize the methodology employed for the evaluation of pre- and post-treatment absorbed dose calculations in 90Y microsphere liver radioembolization. Basic assumptions include the permanent trapping of microspheres, the local energy deposition method for voxel dosimetry, and the patient–relative calibration method for activity quantification.The identity of 99mTc albumin macro-aggregates (MAA) and 90Y microsphere biodistribution is also assumed. The large observed discrepancies in some patients between 99mTc-MAA predictions and actual 90Y microsphere distributions for lesions is discussed. Absorbed dose predictions to whole non-tumoural liver are considered more reliable and the basic predictors of toxicity. Treatment planning based on mean absorbed dose delivered to the whole non-tumoural liver is advised, except in super-selective treatments.Given the potential mismatch between MAA simulation and actual therapy, absorbed doses should be calculated both pre- and post-therapy. Distinct evaluation between target tumours and non-tumoural tissue, including lungs in cases of lung shunt, are vital for proper optimization of therapy. Dosimetry should be performed first according to a mean absorbed dose approach, with an optional, but important, voxel level evaluation. Fully corrected 99mTc-MAA Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) and 90Y TOF PET/CT are regarded as optimal acquisition methodologies, but, for institutes where SPECT/CT is not available, non-attenuation corrected 99mTc-MAA SPECT may be used. This offers better planning quality than non dosimetric methods such as Body Surface Area (BSA) or mono-compartmental dosimetry. Quantitative 90Y bremsstrahlung SPECT can be used if dedicated correction methods are available.The proposed methodology is feasible with standard camera software and a spreadsheet. Available commercial or free software can help facilitate the process and improve calculation time.

Numerical Modeling on Crack Propagation Based on a Multi-Grid Bond-Based Dual-Horizon Peridynamics

Peridynamics (PD) is a novel nonlocal theory of continuum mechanics capable of describing crack formation and propagation without defining any fracture rules in advance. In this study, a multi-grid bond-based dual-horizon peridynamics (DH-PD) model is presented, which includes varying horizon sizes and can avoid spurious wave reflections. This model incorporates the volume correction, surface correction, and a technique of nonuniformity discretization to improve calculation accuracy and efficiency. Two benchmark problems are simulated to verify the reliability of the proposed model with the effect of the volume correction and surface correction on the computational accuracy confirmed. Two numerical examples, the fracture of an L-shaped concrete specimen and the mixed damage of a double-edged notched specimen, are simulated and analyzed. The simulation results are compared against experimental data, the numerical solution of a traditional PD model, and the output from a finite element model. The comparisons verify the calculation accuracy of the corrected DH-PD model and its advantages over some other models like the traditional PD model.

Parameter study of ehf dual-band vibrator antennas with coaxial and two-wire shunts

Subject and Purpose. Two types of new dual-frequency microwave antennas with coaxial and two-wire shunts are considered with a view to improve calculation methods of radio engineering and design parameters of the antennas of the kind. Methods and Methodology. The mathematical methods of equivalent long line and the method of integral equation and optimization of objective functions are used, involving set-point and current values of the voltage standing-wave ratios at the antenna input connectors in the two operating frequency bands. Results. The research and development results have been presented for two variants of dual-frequency (dual-band) vibrator antennas according to whether the shunts are placed inside metal radiating tubes or outside the central conductive rod of the antenna. The shunts are in coaxial and two-wire versions. As applied to the first antenna variant, the method of shunt length optimization upon a minimization of the objective functions yields desired values of antenna electrical parameters (voltage standing-wave ratio, radiation patterns, etc.). For the second antenna variant with both coaxial and two-wire external shunts and provided that the design and operation principle of these antennas are similar, conditions under which the double-frequency mode is possible have been determined for the first time. Conclusion. The proposed method of design and development of tubular dual-frequency vibrator antennas with coaxial shunts has been used to yield a two-frequency circular (elliptical) polarization turnstile antenna as part of sea buoys in the project "Ocean" of the National Space Agency of Ukraine and other spaceborne dual-frequency antennas. The new dual-frequency microstrip antenna discussed in this paper saves us significant drawbacks peculiar to the known dual-frequency antennas and can be used aboard spacecraft and other mobile objects due to its small size.

Effect of Seasonal Flow Field on Inland Ship Emission Assessment: A Case Study of Ferry

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the seasonal flow field on inland ship emissions and to improve calculation accuracy. Firstly, the flow field model is built through numerical simulation to correct the sailing speed of the ship from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) information in real-time. Then, an optimal emission estimation model for inland ships considering flow field factors is proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the optimization model is demonstrated by a case study, and the influence of the seasonal flow field on emission calculation is analyzed. It indicates that the calculation results of the model considering the influence of the flow field are more accurate. Without considering the flow field, the results of emission calculations are often underestimated, especially in summer, which shows the importance of incorporating the flow field factors into the calculation of inland ship emissions.

Simulation-Based Electric Vehicle Sustainable Routing with Time-Dependent Stochastic Information

We propose a routing method for electric vehicles that finds a route with minimal expected travel time in time-dependent stochastic networks. The method first estimates whether the vehicle can reach the destination with the current battery level and selects potential reasonable charging stations if needed. Then, the route-search problem is formulated as a shortest path problem with time-dependent stochastic disruptions, using a Markov decision process. The shortest path problem is solved by an approximate dynamic programming algorithm to improve calculation efficiency in complex networks. Several simulation cases and a scenario-based example are given to prove the validity of the method.

Shear Behavior Of Anchors On The Basis Of Carbon Fiber At External Reinforcement

In systems of external reinforcement on the basis of carbon fibers used for strengthening concrete structures, special attention should be paid to the anchoring of carbon reinforcement elements. Taking into account their installation in the external reinforcement system in the reinforced structure, the anchoring elements can work on the shear. At the same time, the nature of such operatioj as a whole is insufficiently studied, which raises many questions both about their calculation and their design. In order to improve calculation and design methods of carbon anchors, special experimental studies of the parameters of anchors and their impact on the bearing capacity of the anchor fastening were carried out. These studies relate to the length of the anchorage in the concrete body, maximum shear forces, ultimate deformations of the anchor etc. According to the results of the experiments conducted, the analysis of results obtained was performed, in particular, various schemes of destruction of anchors were analyzed and the impact of the depth of the anchor, its diameter of the anchor, as well as the type of binder on the degree of theirdestruction were studied.

A GPU-Based Automatic Approach for Guide Wire Tracking in Fluoroscopic Sequences

Guide wire tracking in fluoroscopic images has done a significant task in assisting the physicians during radiology-aided interventions. Many groups have tried to detect the guide wire from the fluoroscopic images based on the image properties. The main challenge is that manual intervention is required during the detection. Other groups try to introduce localizers to track guide wires during intervention, which requires additional hardware equipment, and may intervene with the traditional clinical routines. Machine learning methods are also exploited. Although such methods may provide accurate tracking, they often require large amount of data and training time. In this paper, we propose a GPU-based fast and automatic approach to track guide wires in fluoroscopic sequences. We propose a multi-scale filtering and gradient vector field-based real-time tracking method for guide wire tracking from fluoroscopic images. To improve calculation efficiency and meet real-time application requirement, we propose a GPU-based acceleration scheme, and also a Bayesian filter-like motion tracking method to limit the guide wire tracking to a smaller range to improve calculation efficiency. We test our proposed method on two test data sets of fluoroscopic sequences of 102 frames and 72 frames. We achieve an average guide wire detection rate of 96.7%, a false detection rate of 0.0011% and an error distance measure of 0.83 pixels for the first sequence, and 98.8%, 0.000069% and 0.85 pixels, respectively, for the second sequence. With the proposed acceleration method, we finish calculation for the first sequence in nine seconds, thus, efficiency is enhanced by 100 times with the unaccelerated algorithm.

Determining of correlation relationship between roll, pitch, and yaw for UAVs

Currently, UAVs are intensively being introduced into topographic-photogrammetric production for topographic digital aerial photography and laser scanning. These technologies have a number of advantages: they don’t require specially prepared platforms and launchers, they are relatively inexpensive unlike large aircrafts, and they are safe. However, there are still many unsolved problems for ultralight UAVs, especially when the aerial photography is made. As you know, the requirements for the implementation of the aerial survey process are quite stringent, first of all, for horizontal flight: the angles of inclination must be within 3–5 degrees, since exceeding these tolerances significantly affects the accuracy for determining the spatial coordinates of objects. Therefore, there was an idea to conduct researches of dependences between the pitch α, roll ω and yaw κ. For this purpose, 100 images obtained from aircraft-type UAV ‘Arrow’ developed and created by specialists from Lviv Polytechnic National University and ‘Abris’ were used. As a result of the study, the multiple correlation coefficient and the parameters of the linear regression equation for the angular elements of the exterior orientation of digital images were calculated. In addition, statistical quality evaluations for the obtained regression model were carried out. Analysis of the received data allows to assert that angular elements of exterior orientation are correlated with each other. Therefore, in the further imaging materials, processing it becomes possible to make compensation of this fact and to improve calculation accuracy of spatial coordinates of points.

Optimization of the electric field calculation for a rod-shaped conductor in a uniform electric field

A rod-shaped conductor in a uniform electric field is analyzed based on finite difference method. Most induction charges distribute at the two hemisphere ends, which is similar with two connected conducting spheres in a uniform field. Therefore, the boundary potentials are calculated by multiple image method for the system with two connected conducting spheres. Comparing the results from our method with those from traditional method with constant boundary potentials, our method can improve calculation evidently. Results prove that this method is available and credible, and it can give electric field with high precision.