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Purpose
To demonstrate that high quality T₂-weighted (T2w) turbo spin-echo (TSE) imaging of the complete prostate can be achieved routinely and within safety limits at 7 T, using an external transceive body array coil only.
Methods
Nine healthy volunteers and 12 prostate cancer patients were scanned on a 7 T whole-body system. Preparation consisted of B₀ and radiofrequency shimming and localized flip angle calibration. T₁ and T₂ relaxation times were measured and used to define the T2w-TSE protocol. T2w imaging was performed using a TSE sequence (pulse repetition time/echo time 3000–3640/71 ms) with prolonged excitation and refocusing pulses to reduce specific absorption rate.
Results
High quality T2w TSE imaging was performed in less than 2 min in all subjects. Tumors of patients with gold-standard tumor localization (MR-guided biopsy or prostatectomy) were well visualized on 7 T imaging (n = 3). The number of consecutive slices achievable within a 10-g averaged specific absorption rate limit of 10 W/kg was ≥28 in all subjects, sufficient for full prostate coverage with 3-mm slices in at least one direction.
Conclusion
High quality T2w TSE prostate imaging can be performed routinely and within specific absorption rate limits at 7 T with an external transceive body array.
Ground or aerial robots equipped with advanced sensing technologies, such as three-dimensional laser scanners and advanced mapping algorithms, are deemed useful as a supporting technology for first responders. A great deal of excellent research in the field exists, but practical applications at real disaster sites are scarce. Many projects concentrate on equipping robots with advanced capabilities, such as autonomous exploration or object manipulation. In spite of this, realistic application areas for such robots are limited to teleoperated reconnaissance or search. In this paper, we investigate how well state-of-the-art and off-the-shelf components and algorithms are suited for reconnaissance in current disaster-relief scenarios. The basic idea is to make use of some of the most common sensors and deploy some widely used algorithms in a disaster situation, and to evaluate how well the components work for these scenarios. We acquired the sensor data from two field experiments, one from a disaster-relief operation in a motorway tunnel, and one from a mapping experiment in a partly closed down motorway tunnel. Based on these data, which we make publicly available, we evaluate state-of-the-art and off-the-shelf mapping approaches. In our analysis, we integrate opinions and replies from first responders as well as from some algorithm developers on the usefulness of the data and the limitations of the deployed approaches, respectively. We discuss the lessons we learned during the two missions. These lessons are interesting for the community working in similar areas of urban search and rescue, particularly reconnaissance and search.
The absorption coefficient of VAI3, FeAI, NiAI, NiAl2, CuAI2, PrAl2, and of disordered V–AI (16 at% AI, 28%, 41%) and Fe–AI (11%) alloys has been measured in the region of the M₂,₃ absorption of the transition metals and the Labsorption of AI. The strong changes of the AI spectrum in the region of the 100 eV maximum upon alloying are explained as another evidence of the EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption fine structure) nature of these structures. The broad, prominent absorption peaks from the 3p excitations in V and Fe and from the 4d excitations in Pr are influenced only little on allyoing and thus appear to be of atomic origin. The fine structure at the onset of the Pr 4d transitions is identical in the metal and the alloy but differs from that of Pr oxide. The only M₂,₃ edge which is detectably shifted is that of Ni (up to 2.1 eV), whereas the onset of the AI L₂,₃ edge is shifted in all the alloys (up to 1.1 eV). The shifts are interpreted in accordance with X-ray fluorescence and nuclear resonance measurements as changes of the density of states in the valence band of the alloys.