Dual-Energy Computed Tomography-Based Iodine Concentration Estimation for Evaluating Choroidal Malignant Melanoma Response to Treatment: Optimization and Primary Validation

Contrast-enhanced imaging for choroidal malignant melanoma (CMM) is mostly limited to detecting metastatic tumors, possibly due to difficulties in fixing the eye position. We aimed to (1) validate the appropriateness of estimating iodine concentration based on dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for CMM and optimize the calculation parameters for estimation, and (2) perform a primary clinical validation by assessing the ability of this technique to show changes in CMM after charged-particle radiation therapy. The accuracy of the optimized estimate (eIC_optimized) was compared to an estimate obtained by commercial software (eIC_commercial) by determining the difference from the ground truth. Then, eIC_optimized, tumor volume, and CT values (80 kVp, 140 kVp, and synthesized 120 kVp) were measured at pre-treatment and 3 months and 1.5−2 years after treatment. The difference from the ground truth was significantly smaller in eIC_optimized than in eIC_commercial (p < 0.01). Tumor volume, CT values, and eIC_optimized all decreased significantly at 1.5−2 years after treatment, but only eIC_commercial showed a significant reduction at 3 months after treatment (p < 0.01). eIC_optimized can quantify contrast enhancement in primary CMM lesions and has high sensitivity for detecting the response to charged-particle radiation therapy, making it potentially useful for treatment monitoring.

Longitudinal stability of a multimodal visco-elastic polyacrylamide gel phantom for magnetic resonance and ultrasound shear-wave elastography

We evaluated the long-term stability of a newly developed viscoelastic phantom made of polyacrylamide (PAAm) gel for magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and ultrasound-based shear-wave elastography (US SWE). The stiffness of the cylindrical phantom was measured at 0, 13 and 18 months. Storage and loss moduli were measured with MRE, and shear-wave speed (SWS) was measured with US SWE. Long-term stability was evaluated in accordance with the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) profiles for each modality. The initial storage and loss moduli of the phantom were 5.01±0.22 and 1.11±0.15 respectively, and SWS was 2.57±0.04 m/s. The weight of the phantom decreased by 0.6% over the 18 months. When measured with MRE, the stiffness of the phantom decreased and changes to the storage and loss moduli were -3.0% and -4.6% between 0 and 13 months, and -4.3% and 0.0% between 0 and 18 months. The US measurements found that SWS decreased by 2.4% over the first 13 months and 3.6% at 18 months. These changes were smaller than the tolerances specified in the QIBA profiles, so the viscoelastic PAAm gel phantom fulfilled the condition for long-term stability. This new phantom has the potential to be used as a quality assurance and quality control phantom for MRE and US SWE.

Pulsed current wave shaping with a transmission line by utilizing superposition of a forward and a backward voltage wave for fast capillary Z-pinch discharge

By using a water transmission line, current wave shaping was demonstrated for a fast capillary Z-pinch discharge recombination soft x-ray laser study. The pulsed power system consists of a water capacitor, a gap switch, a transmission line, and a capillary plasma load. A voltage wave initiated at the water capacitor propagates toward the capillary load through the transmission line. Control of the pulse delay that occurred in the transmission line provides the superposition of the forward and the backward voltage waves effectively in order to perform current wave shaping with higher current amplitude and rapid current decay.

Laser-filament-induced corona discharges and remote measurements of electric fields

Femtosecond laser pulses were used to make plasma filaments near an isolated positively or negatively highly biased electrode. The electrode was well positioned to sustain a high voltage up to U(max)=+/-400 kV to avoid the induced breakdown or a glow discharge; the shape of the electrode was chosen to reduce the corona effects at the maximal voltage. The filament's UV emission is shown to be very sensitive to the voltage applied: it increases nonlinearly with the electrode potential. Along with nanosecond filament-induced flashes at both polarities, long, about a half microsecond, corona flashes were observed at the negative polarity.

Inactivation kinetics of Escherichia coli by pulsed electron beam

A novel and compact low-energy (keV) high-power pulsed electron beam (e-beam) that utilizes a secondary emission electron gun (SEEG) was designed and constructed. Escherichia coli JM 109 at a concentration of 10(6) CFU/mL was spread-plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) medium and subjected to the SEEG e-beam. The e-beam was administered as 1 or 5 pulses. The duration of a single pulse was constant at 5 micros, e-beam current density was constant at 25 mA/cm2, and e-beam energy varied between 60 and 82.5 keV. Following treatment with the SEEG e-beam, survivors of the irradiated E. coli samples were enumerated by a standard 10-fold dilution and spread-plated. The survivor curves were plotted on logarithmic scale as a function of e-beam dose. The D10-values were calculated as a negative reciprocal of the slope of the survivor curves. The D10-values for E. coli inactivated with 1- and 5-pulse SEEG e-beam were 0.0026 and 0.0217 Gy, respectively. These D10-values were considerably lower than published D10-values for E. coli inactivated with conventional high-energy continuous e-beam, likely due to shorter exposure time (t), greater current density (J), and a pulse mode of the SEEG e-beam. The SEEG e-beam showed promising results for microbial inactivation in a nonthermal manner; however, due to low energy of the SEEG e-beam, current applications are limited to surface decontamination. The SEEG e-beam may be an efficient processing step for surface inactivation of food-borne pathogens on ready-to-eat products, including fresh and leafy vegetables.