ID: 18548 Title: A Splatting Method to Generate DRRs for Deformed CT Volume Purpose: To develop an efficient algorithm for generating high-quality digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) for regularly and irregularly sampled volumes based on a splatting method with dynamic elliptical Gaussian kernels, and to evaluate this method using ray tracing. Methods: The traditional ray tracing method,...

In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a C++ based Common Component Architecture (CCA) framework, XCAT-C++. It can efficiently marshal and unmarshal large data sets, and provides the necessary modules and hooks in the framework to meet the requirements of distributed scientific applications. XCAT-C++ uses a high-performance multi-protocol library so that the appropriate comm...

mRNAs concentrated in specific regions of the oocyte have been found to encode determinants that specify cell fate. We show that an intermediate filament fraction isolated from Xenopus stage VI oocytes specifically contains, in addition to Vg1 RNA, a new localized mRNA, Xcat-2. Like Vg1, Xcat-2 is found in the vegetal cortical region, is inherited by the vegetal blasomeres during development, a...

Statistical reconstruction methods for X-ray CT rely on regularization to yield good quality images. We propose and investigate a specific type of nonquadratic regularization for 3-D CT reconstruction that corresponds to applying a 2-D orthonormal wavelet transform (OWT) on trans-axial slices and finite differences (FD) along the axial direction. We use an iterative variable-splitting-based alt...

Simulated magnetic resonance imaging brain studies have been generated for over a decade. Despite their useful potential, simulated cardiac studies are only emerging. This article focuses on the realistic simulation of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging datasets. The methodology is based on the XCAT phantom, which is modified to increase realism of the simulated images. Modifications include th...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) simulators have been largely applied to brain studies. However, cardiac applications of these simulators are only emerging. This paper focuses on the realistic simulation of local appearance of cardiac MRI datasets. Simulations are obtained from the MRISIM simulator with XCAT phantom (formerly NCAT) as input. Phantoms are further extended to increase realism of ...

4D-CT is an important tool for treatment simulation and treatment planning in radiotherapy. In order to capture the tumor and tissue movement over time, 4D-CT has to acquire more projection images compared to 3D-CT. This leads to more radiation dose, which is the main concern of the application. Using fewer projections can reduce the radiation dose. However, lack of projections degrades the rec...