Seiichiro Kagei

Magnetic resonance analysis of abnormal diaphragmatic motion in patients with emphysema

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate paradoxical diaphragmatic motion using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. A total of 27 subjects were examined, including 12 normal young adults, six control individuals, and nine patients with emphysema. With subjects in the supine position, 30 sequential sagittal MR images of the entire right lung were obtained during tidal and deep slow breathing. Diaphragmatic movement between sequential images was estimated as the displacement area and the total diaphragmatic movement in a respiratory cycle was calculated. The paradoxical motion of the diaphragm, representing the inverted movement to increase or decrease lung area, since paradoxical movement ratio (Mpr=(total paradoxical diaphragmatic movement/total diaphragmatic movement)×100), was evaluated. In patients with emphysema, paradoxical diaphragmatic motion was observed on MR images during deep breathing. The mean Mpr in emphysematous patients during deep breathing was 10±4%, which was significantly higher than 0.5±0.2% in young adults (p<0.05), and 1.2±0.6% in aged-matched controls (p<0.05). The present results indicate that magnetic resonance images could be used to detect paradoxical diaphragmatic motion in patients with emphysema.

Binary diffusion coefficients, partition ratios and partial molar volumes at infinite dilution for β-carotene and α-tocopherol in supercritical carbon dioxide

Abstract Binary diffusion coefficients D 12 and partition ratios k at infinite dilution for β-carotene and α-tocopherol in supercritical carbon dioxide were measured at temperatures from 308.15 to 333.15 K and pressures from 9 to 30 MPa by a tracer response technique with a poly(ethylene glycol) coated capillary column. Both parameters, simultaneously determined by fitting the calculated response curve to that measured experimentally, were well represented with the correlations: the D 12 / T values were correlated with CO 2 viscosity, and the k values were expressed with a function of temperature and CO 2 density. However, the partial molar volumes obtained from the k values were not well consistent with those estimated using equation of states having the interaction parameters k ij reported in the literature.

Paradoxical motion of the hemidiaphragm in patients with emphysema.

The authors evaluate paradoxical diaphragmatic motion using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients with emphysema. The subjects were 12 healthy volunteers and 10 male patients with moderate to severe air flow obstruction. With subjects in the supine position, 30 sequential sagittal images of the bilateral lungs were obtained during quiet and forced breathing using a 1.5T MR unit with a body coil. The sequence was single shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) with half Fourier transformation. Subtraction images were made from the original images (by subtracting a given image from the preceding image), which visualized the chest wall motion as white or black bands on the edge of the lung fields. The authors evaluated both the original and subtraction images. MR imaging showed abnormal hemidiaphragmatic motion during forced breathing: the ventral portion of the hemidiaphragm moved downward while the dorsal part moved upward like a seesaw in 6 patients. MR images also revealed abnormal ribcage motion; the ventral ribcage moved anteriorly when the hemidiaphragm moved upward in 7 patients. No abnormal motion was observed in healthy volunteers. MR is a noninvasive and useful tool for evaluating the asynchronous respiratory motion in patients with emphysema.

Infinite-Dilution Binary Diffusion Coefficients of 2-Propanone, 2-Butanone, 2-Pentanone, and 3-Pentanone in CO2 by the Taylor Dispersion Technique from 308.15 to 328.15 K in the Pressure Range from 8 to 35 MPa

Infinite-dilution binary diffusion coefficients of 2-propanone, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, and 3-pentanone in carbon dioxide were measured by the Taylor dispersion method at temperatures from 308.15 to 328.15 K and pressures from 7.60 to 34.57 MPa. The D12 values were obtained from the response curves by the method of fitting in the time domain. The accuracy in the fitting error was examined for each measurement. The measured D12 data were found to be well correlated by the Schmidt number correlation, with AAD%=3.74% for all solutes.

Infinite Dilution Binary Diffusion Coefficients of Benzene in Carbon Dioxide by the Taylor Dispersion Technique at Temperatures from 308.15 to 328.15 K and Pressures from 6 to 30 MPa

Infinite dilution binary diffusion coefficients, D12, of benzene in carbon dioxide were measured by the Taylor dispersion technique at temperatures from 308.15 to 328.15 K and pressures from 6 to 30 MPa. The diffusion coefficients were obtained by the method of fitting in the time domain from the response curves measured with a UV–vis multidetector by scanning from 220 to 280 nm at increments of 1 or 4 nm. The wavelength dependences on the binary diffusion coefficient and the uncertainty were examined. The detector linearity, in terms of the relationship between the absorbance intensity and the product of the peak area of the response curve and CO2 velocity, was found to fail at some characteristic absorption wavelengths such as 243, 248, 253, and 259 nm, even when the maximum absorbance intensities of the response curves were less than 0.5 and the fits were good. Although the D12 values obtained from the response curves measured at 253 nm were almost consistent with some literature data, the D12 values measured at wavelengths showing the detector linearity to be satisfactory, i.e., at 239 nm, were higher than those at 253 nm. The present D12 data at 239 nm were well represented by the Schmidt number correlation, except for those showing the anomalous decrease in a plot of D12 vs density in the density range from 250 to 500 kg·m−3.

Correlation of lung parenchymal MR signal intensity with pulmonary function tests and quantitative computed tomography (CT) evaluation: a pilot study.

To evaluate the effect of ventilatory impairment on MR signal intensity of the lung parenchyma.

Applications of the chromatographic impulse response method in supercritical fluid chromatography

The use of chromatographic impulse response (CIR) method with a coated open tubular capillary column has potential advantages in supercritical fluid chromatography. In this review, applications of the CIR method to measuring the thermodynamic properties such as diffusion coefficients, solubilities and partial molar volumes are presented. This survey gives the theoretical backgrounds for the CIR method with linear adsorption and nonlinear adsorption models. Furthermore, the brief theoretical backgrounds for using retention factors to determine solubilities and partial molar volumes are also provided. In addition, the data sources for the diffusion coefficients with an emphasis on the results published after 2004 and for the partial molar volumes in supercritical carbon dioxide are presented.

Animated solid model of the lung constructed from unsynchronized MR sequential images

This work discusses a 4D lung reconstruction method from unsynchronized MR sequential images. The lung, differently from the heart, does not have its own muscles, turning impossible to see its real movements. The visualization of the lung in motion is an actual topic of research in medicine. CT (Computerized Tomography) can obtain spatio-temporal images of the heart by synchronizing with electrocardiographic waves. The FOV of the heart is small when compared to the lungs FOV. The lungs movement is not periodic and is susceptible to variations in the degree of respiration. Compared to CT, MR (Magnetic Resonance) imaging involves longer acquisition times and it is not possible to obtain instantaneous 3D images of the lung. For each slice, only one temporal sequence of 2D images can be obtained. However, methods using MR are preferable because they do not involve radiation. In this paper, based on unsynchronized MR images of the lung an animated B-Rep solid model of the lung is created. The 3D animation represents the lungs motion associated to one selected sequence of MR images. The proposed method can be divided in two parts. First, the lungs silhouettes moving in time are extracted by detecting the presence of a respiratory pattern on 2D spatio-temporal MR images. This approach enables us to determine the lungs silhouette for every frame, even on frames with obscure edges. The sequence of extracted lungs silhouettes are unsynchronized sagittal and coronal silhouettes. Using our algorithm it is possible to reconstruct a 3D lung starting from a silhouette of any type (coronal or sagittal) selected from any instant in time. A wire-frame model of the lung is created by composing coronal and sagittal planar silhouettes representing cross-sections. The silhouette composition is severely underconstrained. Many wire-frame models can be created from the observed sequences of silhouettes in time. Finally, a B-Rep solid model is created using a meshing algorithm. Using the B-Rep solid model the volume in time for the right and left lungs were calculated. It was possible to recognize several characteristics of the 3D real right and left lungs in the shaded model.

Integrated lung field segmentation of injured region with anatomical structure analysis by failure-recovery algorithm from chest CT images

Abstract This work proposes a functionality for computerized tomography (CT) based investigation of diffuse lung diseases diagnosis that enables the evaluation of the disease from lung anatomical structures. Automated methods for segmenting several anatomy structures in chest CT are proposed: namely the lobe lungs, airway tree and pulmonary vessel tree. The airway and pulmonary vessel trees are segmented using a failure tracking and recovery algorithm. The algorithm checks intermediary results consistence, backtrack to a history position if a failure is detected. The quality of the result is improved while reducing the processing time even for subjects with lung diseases. The pulmonary vessels are segmented through the same algorithm with different seed points. The seed for the airway tree segmentation is within the tracheal tube, and the seed for the pulmonary vessels segmentation is within the heart. The algorithm is tested with CT images acquired from four distinct types of subjects: healthy, idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs), usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The main bronchi are found in the segmented airway and the associated lung lobes are determined. Combining the segmented lung lobes and the diffuse lung diseases classification, it is possible to quantify how much and where each lobe is injured. The results were compared with a conventional 3D region growing algorithm and commercial systems. Several results were compared to medical doctor evaluations: inter-lobe fissure, percentage of lung lobe that is injured and lung and lobe volumes. The algorithm proposed was evaluated to be robust enough to segment the cases studied.

Registration of temporal sequences of coronal and sagittal MR images through respiratory patterns

Abstract This work discusses the determination of the breathing patterns in time sequence of images obtained from magnetic resonance (MR) and their use in the temporal registration of coronal and sagittal images. The registration is made without the use of any triggering information and any special gas to enhance the contrast. The temporal sequences of images are acquired in free breathing. The real movement of the lung has never been seen directly, as it is totally dependent on its surrounding muscles and collapses without them. The visualization of the lung in motion is an actual topic of research in medicine. The lung movement is not periodic and it is susceptible to variations in the degree of respiration. Compared to computerized tomography (CT), MR imaging involves longer acquisition times and it is preferable because it does not involve radiation. As coronal and sagittal sequences of images are orthogonal to each other, their intersection corresponds to a segment in the three-dimensional space. The registration is based on the analysis of this intersection segment. A time sequence of this intersection segment can be stacked, defining a two-dimension spatio-temporal (2DST) image. The algorithm proposed in this work can detect asynchronous movements of the internal lung structures and lung surrounding organs. It is assumed that the diaphragmatic movement is the principal movement and all the lung structures move almost synchronously. The synchronization is performed through a pattern named respiratory function. This pattern is obtained by processing a 2DST image. An interval Hough transform algorithm searches for synchronized movements with the respiratory function. A greedy active contour algorithm adjusts small discrepancies originated by asynchronous movements in the respiratory patterns. The output is a set of respiratory patterns. Finally, the composition of coronal and sagittal image pairs that are in the same breathing phase is realized by comparing of respiratory patterns originated from diaphragmatic and upper boundary surfaces. When available, the respiratory patterns associated to lung internal structures are also used. The results of the proposed method are compared with the pixel-by-pixel comparison method. The proposed method increases the number of registered pairs representing composed images and allows an easy check of the breathing phase.