No abstract available

No abstract available

[en] Considerable progress has been achieved in the past ten years in the analysis of particle size and form. Automatic and quantitative image analyzers and stereology enabled a comparative study of acute human and animal leukemias. It is obvious that the agreement of results between these two natural and induced categories provides encouragement to continue this investigation by these methods

[en] Backscatter from the metallic components in the support arm is one of the sources of inaccuracy in dosimetry with Varian amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging devices (a-Si EPIDs). In this study, the non-uniform arm backscatter is blocked by adding lead sheets between the EPID and an E-type support arm. By comparing the EPID responses on and off the arm, with and without lead and considering the extra weight on the imager, 2 mm of lead was determined as the optimum thickness for both 6 and 18 MV beam energies. The arm backscatter at the central axis with the 2 mm lead in place decreased to 0.1% and 0.2% for the largest field size of 30 x 30 cm² using 6 and 18 MV beams, from 2.3% and 1.3% without lead. Changes in the source-to-detector distance (SDD) did not affect the backscatter component more than 1%. The symmetry of the in-plane profiles improved for all field sizes for both beam energies. The addition of lead decreased the contrast-to-noise ratio and resolution by 1.3% and 0.84% for images taken in 6 MV and by 0.5% and 0.38% for those in 18 MV beams. The displacement of the EPID central pixel was measured during a 360⁰ gantry rotation with and without lead which was 1 pixel different. While the backscatter reduces with increasing lead thickness, a 2 mm lead sheet seems sufficient for acceptable dosimetry results without any major degradation to the routine performance of the imager. No increase in patient skin dose was detected.

[en] The technical parameters of the MB 8100-type scinticart are detailed. An international test was carried out. The users were satisfied with the equipment, however, the following proposals were suggested for the new construction: a control source in the detector, individual programs instead of some rarely used built-in programs, the improvement of the recording system in order to avoid the shifting of the lines and a system for the manual setting of the detector. (L.E.)

[en] In this study, the feasibility of difference imaging for improving the contrast of electronic portal imaging device (EPID) images is investigated. The difference imaging technique consists of the acquisition of two EPID images (with and without the placement of an additional layer of attenuating medium on the surface of the EPID) and the subtraction of one of these images from the other. The resulting difference image shows improved contrast, compared to a standard EPID image, since it is generated by lower-energy photons. Results of this study show that, firstly, this method can produce images exhibiting greater contrast than is seen in standard megavoltage EPID images and secondly, the optimal thickness of attenuating material for producing a maximum contrast enhancement may vary with phantom thickness and composition. Further studies of the possibilities and limitations of the difference imaging technique, and the physics behind it, are therefore recommended. (note)

[en] Short communication

No abstract available

[en] It has been demonstrated that pixel-by pixel processing of series of autoradiography images for revealing the dynamics of decay of the induced radionuclides is an efficient approach for mapping of radionuclides in the sample in activation autoradiography. Concepts of virtual scanner and corresponding software for linearization of dependence of optical density on scanner response (luminosity) have been introduced. The concept provides unification of the subsequent processing of autoradiograms, irrespective of the method as to how the digital image has been obtained. Algorithms and the software for estimation of decay parameters of a radionuclide mixture for each pixel using a series of coaxially positioned images have been developed. The software is able generate a set of the derivative meta-images allowing a conclusion to be made about the presence of the inclusions in question. To increase the reliability of radionuclide mapping it is suggested to use analysis of distribution of half-life values estimated for pixels of image zone(s) pointed by a special mask. (author)

No abstract available