Quantitative analysis of computed tomographic (CT) images of the lungs is becoming increasingly useful in the medical and surgical management of subjects with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Current methods for the assessment of airway wall work well in idealized models of the airway. We propose a new method for airway wall detection based on phase congruency. This method does not rely on either a specific model of the airway or the point spread function of the scanner. Our results show that our method gives a better localization of the airway wall than "full width at a half max" and is less sensitive to different reconstruction kernels and radiation doses.

Studying the intersection of brain structure and function is an important aspect of modern neuroscience. The development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over the last 25 years has provided new and powerful tools for the study of brain structure and function. Two tools in particular, diffusion imaging and functional MRI (fMRI), are playing increasingly important roles in elucidating the complementary aspects of brain structure and function. In this work, we review basic technical features of diffusion imaging and fMRI for studying the integrity of white matter structural components and for determining the location and extent of cortical activation in gray matter, respectively. We then review a growing body of literature in which the complementary aspects of diffusion imaging and fMRI, applied as separate examinations but analyzed in tandem, have been exploited to enhance our knowledge of brain structure and function.

BACKGROUND: We measured the shape of the head of the caudate nucleus with a new approach based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) subjects in whom we previously reported decreased caudate nucleus volume. We believe MRI shape analysis complements traditional MRI volume measurements. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging scans were used to measure the shape of the caudate nucleus in 15 right-handed male subjects with SPD, who had no prior neuroleptic exposure, and in 14 matched normal comparison subjects. With MRI processing tools, we measured the head of the caudate nucleus using a shape index, which measured how much a given shape deviates from a sphere. RESULTS: In relation to comparison subjects, neuroleptic never-medicated SPD subjects had significantly higher (more "edgy") head of the caudate shape index scores, lateralized to the right side. Additionally, for SPD subjects, higher right and left head of the caudate SI scores correlated significantly with poorer neuropsychological performance on tasks of visuospatial memory and auditory/verbal working memory, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm the value of measuring shape, as well as volume, of brain regions of interest and support the association of intrinsic pathology in the caudate nucleus, unrelated to neuroleptic medication, with cognitive abnormalities in the schizophrenia spectrum.

Several techniques have been described in the literature in recent years for the reconstruction of a regular volume out of a series of ultrasound (US) slices with arbitrary orientations, typically scanned by means of US freehand systems. However, a systematic approach to such a problem is still missing. This paper focuses on proposing a theoretical framework for the 3-D US volume reconstruction problem. We introduce a statistical method for the construction and trimming of the sampling grid where the reconstruction will be carried out. The results using in vivo US data demonstrate that the computed reconstruction grid that encloses the region-of-interest (ROI) is smaller than those obtained from other reconstruction methods in those cases where the scanning trajectory deviates from a pure straight line. In addition, an adaptive Gaussian interpolation technique is studied and compared with well-known interpolation methods that have been applied to the reconstruction problem in the past. We find that the proposed method numerically outperforms former proposals in several control studies; subjective visual results also support this conclusion and highlight some potential deficiencies of methods previously proposed.

The prevalence of byssinosis and nonspecific respiratory symptoms was studied in 887 textile workers with at least two years of employment in two cotton mills and one silk mill in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. A standardized respiratory questionnaire was used, and environmental sampling was performed with vertical elutriators and colorimeter grading. Eight percent of the cotton textile workers complained of byssinosis. The reports of byssinosis were mostly mild (grade 1/2), more prevalent among women, and unrelated to duration of employment or elutriator dust levels. Nonspecific respiratory symptoms were significantly more prevalent among cotton textile workers than silk workers. After adjustment for age, gender, and smoking in logistic regression models, the odds ratios for the effect of working in cotton textile mills on chronic bronchitis, chronic cough, and frequent chest illness were 3.3, 2.9 and 4.7, respectively. Although none of the symptoms were related to current dust levels, the range of exposures was narrow, and information was only available on current levels of cotton dust. This study represents the first respiratory survey of the textile industry in China using diagnostic criteria similar to that used in the United States and England; it defines a cohort for prospective investigation.