Débito cardíaco e fração de ejeção fetal por meio do spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC): comparação entre fetos masculinos e femininos

OBJETIVO: Comparar do débito cardíaco (DC) e a fração de ejeção (FE) do coração de fetos masculinos e femininos obtidos por meio da ultrassonografia tridimensional, utilizando o spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC). MÉTODOS: Realizou-se um estudo de corte transversal com 216 fetos normais, entre 20 a 34 semanas de gestação, sendo 108 masculinos e 108 femininos. Os volumes ventriculares no final da sístole e diástole foram obtidos por meio do STIC, sendo as avaliações volumétricas realizadas pelo virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) com rotação de 30º. Para o cálculo do DC utilizou-se a fórmula: DC= volume sistólico/frequência cardíaca fetal, enquanto que para a FE utilizou-se a fórmula: FE= volume sistólico/volume diastólico final. O DC (combinado, feminino e masculino) e a FE (masculina e feminina) foram comparadas utilizando-se o teste t não pareado e ANCOVA. Foram criados gráficos de dispersão com os percentis 5, 50 e 95. RESULTADOS: A média do DC combinado, DC direito, DC esquerdo, FE direita e FE esquerda, para feminino e masculino, foram 240,07 mL/min; 122,67 mL/min; 123,40 mL/min; 72,84%; 67,22%; 270,56 mL/min; 139,22 mL/min; 131,34 mL/min; 70,73% e 64,76%, respectivamente; sem diferença estatística (P> 0,05). CONCLUSÕES: O DC e a FE fetal obtidos por meio da ultrassonografia tridimensional (STIC) não apresentaram diferença significativa em relação ao gênero.

A contribution for developing more efficient dynamic modelling algorithms of parallel robots

Parallel kinematic structures are considered very adequate architectures for positioning and orienti ng the tools of robotic mechanisms. However, developing dynamic models for this kind of systems is sometimes a difficult task. In fact, the direct application of traditional methods of robotics, for modelling and analysing such systems, usually does not lead to efficient and systematic algorithms. This work addre sses this issue: to present a modular approach to generate the dynamic model and through some convenient modifications, how we can make these methods more applicable to parallel structures as well. Kane’s formulati on to obtain the dynamic equations is shown to be one of the easiest ways to deal with redundant coordinates and kinematic constraints, so that a suitable c hoice of a set of coordinates allows the remaining of the modelling procedure to be computer aided. The advantages of this approach are discussed in the modelling of a 3-dof parallel asymmetric mechanisms.

A subpixel edge detector applied to aortic dissection detection

[EN] The aortic dissection is a disease that can cause a deadly situation, even with a correct treatment. It consists in a rupture of a layer of the aortic artery wall, causing a blood flow inside this rupture, called dissection. The aim of this paper is to contribute to its diagnosis, detecting the dissection edges inside the aorta. A subpixel accuracy edge detector based on the hypothesis of partial volume effect is used, where the intensity of an edge pixel is the sum of the contribution of each color weighted by its relative area inside the pixel. The method uses a floating window centred on the edge pixel and computes the edge features. The accuracy of our method is evaluated on synthetic images of different hickness and noise levels, obtaining an edge detection with a maximal mean error lower than 16 percent of a pixel.

Temporal constraints in large optical flow estimation

[EN] The aim of this work is to propose a model for computing the optical flow in a sequence of images. We introduce a new temporal regularizer that is suitable for large displacements. We propose to decouple the spatial and temporal regularizations to avoid an incongruous formulation. For the spatial regularization we use the Nagel-Enkelmann operator and a newly designed temporal regularization. Our model is based on an energy functional that yields a partial differential equation (PDE). This PDE is embedded into a multipyramidal strategy to recover large displacements. A gradient descent technique is applied at each scale to reach the minimum.

3D reconstruction from a vascular tree model

[EN] In this paper, we present a vascular tree model made with synthetic materials and which allows us to obtain images to make a 3D reconstruction.We have used PVC tubes of several diameters and lengths that will let us evaluate the accuracy of our 3D reconstruction. In order to calibrate the camera we have used a corner detector. Also we have used Optical Flow techniques to follow the points through the images going and going back. We describe two general techniques to extract a sequence of corresponding points from multiple views of an object. The resulting sequence of points will be used later to reconstruct a set of 3D points representing the object surfaces on the scene. We have made the 3D reconstruction choosing by chance a couple of images and we have calculated the projection error. After several repetitions, we have found the best 3D location for the point.

Body ares networks for human motor assessment

Healthcare, Human Computer Interfaces (HCI), Security and Biometry are the most promising application scenario directly involved in the Body Area Networks (BANs) evolution. Both wearable devices and sensors directly integrated in garments envision a word in which each of us is supervised by an invisible assistant monitoring our health and daily-life activities. New opportunities are enabled because improvements in sensors miniaturization and transmission efficiency of the wireless protocols, that achieved the integration of high computational power aboard independent, energy-autonomous, small form factor devices. Application’s purposes are various: (I) data collection to achieve off-line knowledge discovery; (II) user notification of his/her activities or in case a danger occurs; (III) biofeedback rehabilitation; (IV) remote alarm activation in case the subject need assistance; (V) introduction of a more natural interaction with the surrounding computerized environment; (VI) users identification by physiological or behavioral characteristics. Telemedicine and mHealth [1] are two of the leading concepts directly related to healthcare. The capability to borne unobtrusiveness objects supports users’ autonomy. A new sense of freedom is shown to the user, not only supported by a psychological help but a real safety improvement. Furthermore, medical community aims the introduction of new devices to innovate patient treatments. In particular, the extension of the ambulatory analysis in the real life scenario by proving continuous acquisition. The wide diffusion of emerging wellness portable equipment extended the usability of wearable devices also for fitness and training by monitoring user performance on the working task. The learning of the right execution techniques related to work, sport, music can be supported by an electronic trainer furnishing the adequate aid. HCIs made real the concept of Ubiquitous, Pervasive Computing and Calm Technology introduced in the 1988 by Marc Weiser and John Seeley Brown. They promotes the creation of pervasive environments, enhancing the human experience. Context aware, adaptive and proactive environments serve and help people by becoming sensitive and reactive to their presence, since electronics is ubiquitous and deployed everywhere. In this thesis we pay attention to the integration of all the aspects involved in a BAN development. Starting from the choice of sensors we design the node, configure the radio network, implement real-time data analysis and provide a feedback to the user. We present algorithms to be implemented in wearable assistant for posture and gait analysis and to provide assistance on different walking conditions, preventing falls. Our aim, expressed by the idea to contribute at the development of a non proprietary solutions, driven us to integrate commercial and standard solutions in our devices. We use sensors available on the market and avoided to design specialized sensors in ASIC technologies. We employ standard radio protocol and open source projects when it was achieved. The specific contributions of the PhD research activities are presented and discussed in the following. • We have designed and build several wireless sensor node providing both sensing and actuator capability making the focus on the flexibility, small form factor and low power consumption. The key idea was to develop a simple and general purpose architecture for rapid analysis, prototyping and deployment of BAN solutions. Two different sensing units are integrated: kinematic (3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscopes) and kinetic (foot-floor contact pressure forces). Two kind of feedbacks were implemented: audio and vibrotactile. • Since the system built is a suitable platform for testing and measuring the features and the constraints of a sensor network (radio communication, network protocols, power consumption and autonomy), we made a comparison between Bluetooth and ZigBee performance in terms of throughput and energy efficiency. Test in the field evaluate the usability in the fall detection scenario. • To prove the flexibility of the architecture designed, we have implemented a wearable system for human posture rehabilitation. The application was developed in conjunction with biomedical engineers who provided the audio-algorithms to furnish a biofeedback to the user about his/her stability. • We explored off-line gait analysis of collected data, developing an algorithm to detect foot inclination in the sagittal plane, during walk. • In collaboration with the Wearable Lab – ETH, Zurich, we developed an algorithm to monitor the user during several walking condition where the user carry a load. The remainder of the thesis is organized as follows. Chapter I gives an overview about Body Area Networks (BANs), illustrating the relevant features of this technology and the key challenges still open. It concludes with a short list of the real solutions and prototypes proposed by academic research and manufacturers. The domain of the posture and gait analysis, the methodologies, and the technologies used to provide real-time feedback on detected events, are illustrated in Chapter II. The Chapter III and IV, respectively, shown BANs developed with the purpose to detect fall and monitor the gait taking advantage by two inertial measurement unit and baropodometric insoles. Chapter V reports an audio-biofeedback system to improve balance on the information provided by the use centre of mass. A walking assistant based on the KNN classifier to detect walking alteration on load carriage, is described in Chapter VI.

Architectures and design patterns for functional design of logic control and diagnostics in industrial automation

Recently in most of the industrial automation process an ever increasing degree of automation has been observed. This increasing is motivated by the higher requirement of systems with great performance in terms of quality of products/services generated, productivity, efficiency and low costs in the design, realization and maintenance. This trend in the growth of complex automation systems is rapidly spreading over automated manufacturing systems (AMS), where the integration of the mechanical and electronic technology, typical of the Mechatronics, is merging with other technologies such as Informatics and the communication networks. An AMS is a very complex system that can be thought constituted by a set of flexible working stations, one or more transportation systems. To understand how this machine are important in our society let considerate that every day most of us use bottles of water or soda, buy product in box like food or cigarets and so on. Another important consideration from its complexity derive from the fact that the the consortium of machine producers has estimated around 350 types of manufacturing machine. A large number of manufacturing machine industry are presented in Italy and notably packaging machine industry,in particular a great concentration of this kind of industry is located in Bologna area; for this reason the Bologna area is called “packaging valley”. Usually, the various parts of the AMS interact among them in a concurrent and asynchronous way, and coordinate the parts of the machine to obtain a desiderated overall behaviour is an hard task. Often, this is the case in large scale systems, organized in a modular and distributed manner. Even if the success of a modern AMS from a functional and behavioural point of view is still to attribute to the design choices operated in the definition of the mechanical structure and electrical electronic architecture, the system that governs the control of the plant is becoming crucial, because of the large number of duties associated to it. Apart from the activity inherent to the automation of themachine cycles, the supervisory system is called to perform other main functions such as: emulating the behaviour of traditional mechanical members thus allowing a drastic constructive simplification of the machine and a crucial functional flexibility; dynamically adapting the control strategies according to the different productive needs and to the different operational scenarios; obtaining a high quality of the final product through the verification of the correctness of the processing; addressing the operator devoted to themachine to promptly and carefully take the actions devoted to establish or restore the optimal operating conditions; managing in real time information on diagnostics, as a support of the maintenance operations of the machine. The kind of facilities that designers can directly find on themarket, in terms of software component libraries provides in fact an adequate support as regard the implementation of either top-level or bottom-level functionalities, typically pertaining to the domains of user-friendly HMIs, closed-loop regulation and motion control, fieldbus-based interconnection of remote smart devices. What is still lacking is a reference framework comprising a comprehensive set of highly reusable logic control components that, focussing on the cross-cutting functionalities characterizing the automation domain, may help the designers in the process of modelling and structuring their applications according to the specific needs. Historically, the design and verification process for complex automated industrial systems is performed in empirical way, without a clear distinction between functional and technological-implementation concepts and without a systematic method to organically deal with the complete system. Traditionally, in the field of analog and digital control design and verification through formal and simulation tools have been adopted since a long time ago, at least for multivariable and/or nonlinear controllers for complex time-driven dynamics as in the fields of vehicles, aircrafts, robots, electric drives and complex power electronics equipments. Moving to the field of logic control, typical for industrial manufacturing automation, the design and verification process is approached in a completely different way, usually very “unstructured”. No clear distinction between functions and implementations, between functional architectures and technological architectures and platforms is considered. Probably this difference is due to the different “dynamical framework”of logic control with respect to analog/digital control. As a matter of facts, in logic control discrete-events dynamics replace time-driven dynamics; hence most of the formal and mathematical tools of analog/digital control cannot be directly migrated to logic control to enlighten the distinction between functions and implementations. In addition, in the common view of application technicians, logic control design is strictly connected to the adopted implementation technology (relays in the past, software nowadays), leading again to a deep confusion among functional view and technological view. In Industrial automation software engineering, concepts as modularity, encapsulation, composability and reusability are strongly emphasized and profitably realized in the so-calledobject-oriented methodologies. Industrial automation is receiving lately this approach, as testified by some IEC standards IEC 611313, IEC 61499 which have been considered in commercial products only recently. On the other hand, in the scientific and technical literature many contributions have been already proposed to establish a suitable modelling framework for industrial automation. During last years it was possible to note a considerable growth in the exploitation of innovative concepts and technologies from ICT world in industrial automation systems. For what concerns the logic control design, Model Based Design (MBD) is being imported in industrial automation from software engineering field. Another key-point in industrial automated systems is the growth of requirements in terms of availability, reliability and safety for technological systems. In other words, the control system should not only deal with the nominal behaviour, but should also deal with other important duties, such as diagnosis and faults isolations, recovery and safety management. Indeed, together with high performance, in complex systems fault occurrences increase. This is a consequence of the fact that, as it typically occurs in reliable mechatronic systems, in complex systems such as AMS, together with reliable mechanical elements, an increasing number of electronic devices are also present, that are more vulnerable by their own nature. The diagnosis problem and the faults isolation in a generic dynamical system consists in the design of an elaboration unit that, appropriately processing the inputs and outputs of the dynamical system, is also capable of detecting incipient faults on the plant devices, reconfiguring the control system so as to guarantee satisfactory performance. The designer should be able to formally verify the product, certifying that, in its final implementation, it will perform itsrequired function guarantying the desired level of reliability and safety; the next step is that of preventing faults and eventually reconfiguring the control system so that faults are tolerated. On this topic an important improvement to formal verification of logic control, fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control results derive from Discrete Event Systems theory. The aimof this work is to define a design pattern and a control architecture to help the designer of control logic in industrial automated systems. The work starts with a brief discussion on main characteristics and description of industrial automated systems on Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 a survey on the state of the software engineering paradigm applied to industrial automation is discussed. Chapter 3 presentes a architecture for industrial automated systems based on the new concept of Generalized Actuator showing its benefits, while in Chapter 4 this architecture is refined using a novel entity, the Generalized Device in order to have a better reusability and modularity of the control logic. In Chapter 5 a new approach will be present based on Discrete Event Systems for the problemof software formal verification and an active fault tolerant control architecture using online diagnostic. Finally conclusive remarks and some ideas on new directions to explore are given. In Appendix A are briefly reported some concepts and results about Discrete Event Systems which should help the reader in understanding some crucial points in chapter 5; while in Appendix B an overview on the experimental testbed of the Laboratory of Automation of University of Bologna, is reported to validated the approach presented in chapter 3, chapter 4 and chapter 5. In Appendix C some components model used in chapter 5 for formal verification are reported.

Design, synthesis and photochemical studies of stilbenoid dendrimers

Stilbenoid dendrimers with stilbene in the periphery and stilbene in periphery as well as core were synthesized by convergent approach except 2nd generation dendrimer with stilbene in the periphery as well as in core (D-5). All dendrimers were characterized by standard techniques such as 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS and IR spectroscopy. The MALDI-TOF technique proved to be very helpful in the identification of the 2nd generation dendrimer (D-5) with a mass of 3231 a.m.u. The dendrimers were designed in such a way that an intramolecular photochemical CC bond formation was favored. As two stilbene units of the same molecule were close enough so they preferred an intramolecular cyclic process except for zero generation dendrimers. Apart from the cycloaddition, some E/Z isomerization and oligomer formation was also observed on irradiation. These processes were observed by 1H NMR and MALDI-TOF MS. The photochemical behavior was also studied by UV absorption spectroscopy. Irradiating by monochromatic light led to an initial E/Z isomerization and by prolonged irradiation, an irreversible cyclic structure was formed. The choice of the wavelength of incident light is very important as irradiation at 320 nm leads to a reversible E/Z isomerization and a non-reversible cyclobutane formation, but irradiation at 340 nm favors the one-way process E Z. The [2+2] cycloaddition of molecule Tm2De was also studied by irradiating thin films on a quartz surface. An AFM image was taken before irradiation, after 3 sec irradiation and after long irradiation (1 hour). AFM studies show that a short irradiation leads to a cyclic structure as formation of hills of about 20-30 nm on the surface. A prolonged irradiation leads to a CC cross linking which can be monitored on AFM images as disappearance of hills. The roughness goes back to an almost smooth surface. These results prove a very complex material transport, which accompanies the reaction in the surface region.

Design and implementation of a novel multi-constellation FPGA-based dual frequency GNSS receiver for space applications

The PhD activity described in the document is part of the Microsatellite and Microsystem Laboratory of the II Faculty of Engineering, University of Bologna. The main objective is the design and development of a GNSS receiver for the orbit determination of microsatellites in low earth orbit. The development starts from the electronic design and goes up to the implementation of the navigation algorithms, covering all the aspects that are involved in this type of applications. The use of GPS receivers for orbit determination is a consolidated application used in many space missions, but the development of the new GNSS system within few years, such as the European Galileo, the Chinese COMPASS and the Russian modernized GLONASS, proposes new challenges and offers new opportunities to increase the orbit determination performances. The evaluation of improvements coming from the new systems together with the implementation of a receiver that is compatible with at least one of the new systems, are the main activities of the PhD. The activities can be divided in three section: receiver requirements definition and prototype implementation, design and analysis of the GNSS signal tracking algorithms, and design and analysis of the navigation algorithms. The receiver prototype is based on a Virtex FPGA by Xilinx, and includes a PowerPC processor. The architecture follows the software defined radio paradigm, so most of signal processing is performed in software while only what is strictly necessary is done in hardware. The tracking algorithms are implemented as a combination of Phase Locked Loop and Frequency Locked Loop for the carrier, and Delay Locked Loop with variable bandwidth for the code. The navigation algorithm is based on the extended Kalman filter and includes an accurate LEO orbit model.

Design And Implementation Of An End-To-End Simulator For The BepiColombo Rotation Experiment

Among the scientific objectives addressed by the Radio Science Experiment hosted on board the ESA mission BepiColombo is the retrieval of the rotational state of planet Mercury. In fact, the estimation of the obliquity and the librations amplitude were proven to be fundamental for constraining the interior composition of Mercury. This is accomplished by the Mercury Orbiter Radio science Experiment (MORE) via a strict interaction among different payloads thus making the experiment particularly challenging. The underlying idea consists in capturing images of the same landmark on the surface of the planet in different epochs in order to observe a displacement of the identified features with respect to a nominal rotation which allows to estimate the rotational parameters. Observations must be planned accurately in order to obtain image pairs carrying the highest information content for the following estimation process. This is not a trivial task especially in light of the several dynamical constraints involved. Another delicate issue is represented by the pattern matching process between image pairs for which the lowest correlation errors are desired. The research activity was conducted in the frame of the MORE rotation experiment and addressed the design and implementation of an end-to-end simulator of the experiment with the final objective of establishing an optimal science planning of the observations. In the thesis, the implementation of the singular modules forming the simulator is illustrated along with the simulations performed. The results obtained from the preliminary release of the optimization algorithm are finally presented although the software implemented is only at a preliminary release and will be improved and refined in the future also taking into account the developments of the mission.

Design, synthesis and application of ultrastable rylene dyes for fluorescent labeling of biomolecules

Studies of organic fluorescent dyes are experiencing a renaissance related to the increasing demands posed by new microscopy techniques for high resolution and high sensitivity. While in the last decade single molecule equipment and methodology has significantly advanced and in some cases reached theoretical limits (e.g. detectors approaching unity quantum yields) unstable emission from chromophores and photobleaching become more and more the bottleneck of the advancement and spreading of single-molecule fluorescence studies. The main goal of this work was the synthesis of fluorophores that are water-soluble, highly fluorescent in an aqueous environment, have a reactive group for attachment to a biomolecule and posses exceptional photostability. An approach towards highly fluorescent, water-soluble and monofunctional perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxdiimide and terrylene-3,4:11,12-tetra carboxidiimide chromophores was presented. A new synthetic strategy for the desymmetrization of perylenetetracarboximides was elaborated; water-solubility was accomplished by introducing sulfonyl substituents in the phenoxy ring. Two strategies have been followed relying on either non-specific or site specific labeling. For this purpose a series of new water-soluble monofunctional perylene and terrylene dyes, bearing amine or carboxy group were prepared. The reactivity and photophysical properties of these new chromophores were studied in aqueous medium. The most suitable chromophores were further derivatized with amine or thiol reactive groups, suitable for chemical modification of proteins. The performance of the new fluorescent probes was assessed by single molecule enzyme tracking, in this case phospholipase acting on phospholipid supported layers. Phospholipase-1 (PLA-1) was labeled with N-hydroxysuccinimide ester functionalized perylene and terrylene derivatives. The purification of the conjugates was accomplished by novel convenient procedure for the removal of unreacted dye from labeled enzymes, which involves capturing excess dye with a solid support. This novel strategy for purification of bioconjugates allows convenient and fast separation of labeled proteins without the need for performing time consuming chromatographic or electrophoretic purification steps. The outstanding photostability of the dyes and, associated therewith, the extended survival times under strong illumination conditions allow a complete characterization of enzyme action on its natural substrates and even connecting enzyme mobility to catalytic activity. For site-specific attachment of the rylene dyes to proteins the chromophores were functionalized with thioesters or nitrilotriacetic acid groups. This allowed attachment of the emitters to the N-terminus of proteins by native chemical ligation or complexation with His-tagged polypeptides at the N- or C-termini, respectively. The synthesis of a water-soluble perylenebis (dicarboximide) functionalized with a thioester group was presented. This chromophore exhibits an exceptional photostability and a functional unit for site-specific labeling of proteins. The suitability of the fluorophore as a covalent label was demonstrated via native chemical ligation with protein containing N-terminal cystein residue. We exploited also oligohisitidine sequences as recognition elements for site-selective labeling. The synthesis of a new water-soluble perylene chromophore, containing a nitrilotriacetic acid functional group was demonstrated, using solution-phase and solid-phase approaches. This chromophore combines the exceptional photophysical properties of the rylene dyes and a recognition unit for site-specific labeling of proteins. An important feature of the label is the unchanged emission of the dye upon complexation with nickel ions.

Vantaggi e limiti dell'integrazione tra sistemi di traduzione assistita e sistemi di traduzione automatica

Computer-assisted translation (or computer-aided translation or CAT) is a form of language translation in which a human translator uses computer software in order to facilitate the translation process. Machine translation (MT) is the automated process by which a computerized system produces a translated text or speech from one natural language to another. Both of them are leading and promising technologies in the translation industry; it therefore seems important that translation students and professional translators become familiar with this relatively new types of technology. Whether used together, not only might these two different types of systems reduce translation time, but also lead to a further improvement in the field of translation technologies. The dissertation consists of four chapters. The first one surveys the chronological development of MT and CAT tools, the emergence of pre-editing, post-editing and controlled language and the very last frontiers in this sector. The second one provide a general overview on the four main CAT tools that are used nowadays and tested hereto. The third chapter is dedicated to the experimentations that have been conducted in order to analyze and evaluate the performance of the four integrated systems that are the core subject of this dissertation. Finally, the fourth chapter deals with the issue of terminological equivalence in interlinguistic translation. The purpose of this dissertation is not to provide an objective and definitive solution to the complex issues that arise at any time in the field of translation technologies, this aim being well away from being achieved, but to supply information about the limits and potentiality that are typical of those instruments which are now essential to any professional translator.

Software zur automatischen Tumordiagnose in der funktionalen MRT der weiblichen Brust

In den westlichen Industrieländern ist das Mammakarzinom der häufigste bösartige Tumor der Frau. Sein weltweiter Anteil an allen Krebserkrankungen der Frau beläuft sich auf etwa 21 %. Inzwischen ist jede neunte Frau bedroht, während ihres Lebens an Brustkrebs zu erkranken. Die alterstandardisierte Mortalitätrate liegt derzeit bei knapp 27 %.rnrnDas Mammakarzinom hat eine relative geringe Wachstumsrate. Die Existenz eines diagnostischen Verfahrens, mit dem alle Mammakarzinome unter 10 mm Durchmesser erkannt und entfernt werden, würden den Tod durch Brustkrebs praktisch beseitigen. Denn die 20-Jahres-Überlebungsrate bei Erkrankung durch initiale Karzinome der Größe 5 bis 10 mm liegt mit über 95 % sehr hoch.rnrnMit der Kontrastmittel gestützten Bildgebung durch die MRT steht eine relativ junge Untersuchungsmethode zur Verfügung, die sensitiv genug zur Erkennung von Karzinomen ab einer Größe von 3 mm Durchmesser ist. Die diagnostische Methodik ist jedoch komplex, fehleranfällig, erfordert eine lange Einarbeitungszeit und somit viel Erfahrung des Radiologen.rnrnEine Computer unterstützte Diagnosesoftware kann die Qualität einer solch komplexen Diagnose erhöhen oder zumindest den Prozess beschleunigen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung einer vollautomatischen Diagnose Software, die als Zweitmeinungssystem eingesetzt werden kann. Meines Wissens existiert eine solche komplette Software bis heute nicht.rnrnDie Software führt eine Kette von verschiedenen Bildverarbeitungsschritten aus, die dem Vorgehen des Radiologen nachgeahmt wurden. Als Ergebnis wird eine selbstständige Diagnose für jede gefundene Läsion erstellt: Zuerst eleminiert eine 3d Bildregistrierung Bewegungsartefakte als Vorverarbeitungsschritt, um die Bildqualität der nachfolgenden Verarbeitungsschritte zu verbessern. Jedes kontrastanreichernde Objekt wird durch eine regelbasierte Segmentierung mit adaptiven Schwellwerten detektiert. Durch die Berechnung kinetischer und morphologischer Merkmale werden die Eigenschaften der Kontrastmittelaufnahme, Form-, Rand- und Textureeigenschaften für jedes Objekt beschrieben. Abschließend werden basierend auf den erhobenen Featurevektor durch zwei trainierte neuronale Netze jedes Objekt in zusätzliche Funde oder in gut- oder bösartige Läsionen klassifiziert.rnrnDie Leistungsfähigkeit der Software wurde auf Bilddaten von 101 weiblichen Patientinnen getested, die 141 histologisch gesicherte Läsionen enthielten. Die Vorhersage der Gesundheit dieser Läsionen ergab eine Sensitivität von 88 % bei einer Spezifität von 72 %. Diese Werte sind den in der Literatur bekannten Vorhersagen von Expertenradiologen ähnlich. Die Vorhersagen enthielten durchschnittlich 2,5 zusätzliche bösartige Funde pro Patientin, die sich als falsch klassifizierte Artefakte herausstellten.rn

Anpassung des Metamodells PerPot an den ausdauerorientierten Laufsport zur Trainings- und Wettkampfoptimierung

Schon seit einigen Jahrzehnten wird die Sportwissenschaft durch computergestützte Methoden in ihrer Arbeit unterstützt. Mit der stetigen Weiterentwicklung der Technik kann seit einigen Jahren auch zunehmend die Sportpraxis von deren Einsatz profitieren. Mathematische und informatische Modelle sowie Algorithmen werden zur Leistungsoptimierung sowohl im Mannschafts- als auch im Individualsport genutzt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird das von Prof. Perl im Jahr 2000 entwickelte Metamodell PerPot an den ausdauerorientierten Laufsport angepasst. Die Änderungen betreffen sowohl die interne Modellstruktur als auch die Art der Ermittlung der Modellparameter. Damit das Modell in der Sportpraxis eingesetzt werden kann, wurde ein Kalibrierungs-Test entwickelt, mit dem die spezifischen Modellparameter an den jeweiligen Sportler individuell angepasst werden. Mit dem angepassten Modell ist es möglich, aus gegebenen Geschwindigkeitsprofilen die korrespondierenden Herzfrequenzverläufe abzubilden. Mit dem auf den Athleten eingestellten Modell können anschliessend Simulationen von Läufen durch die Eingabe von Geschwindigkeitsprofilen durchgeführt werden. Die Simulationen können in der Praxis zur Optimierung des Trainings und der Wettkämpfe verwendet werden. Das Training kann durch die Ermittlung einer simulativ bestimmten individuellen anaeroben Schwellenherzfrequenz optimal gesteuert werden. Die statistische Auswertung der PerPot-Schwelle zeigt signifikante Übereinstimmungen mit den in der Sportpraxis üblichen invasiv bestimmten Laktatschwellen. Die Wettkämpfe können durch die Ermittlung eines optimalen Geschwindigkeitsprofils durch verschiedene simulationsbasierte Optimierungsverfahren unterstützt werden. Bei der neuesten Methode erhält der Athlet sogar im Laufe des Wettkampfs aktuelle Prognosen, die auf den Geschwindigkeits- und Herzfrequenzdaten basieren, die während des Wettkampfs gemessen werden. Die mit PerPot optimierten Wettkampfzielzeiten für die Athleten zeigen eine hohe Prognosegüte im Vergleich zu den tatsächlich erreichten Zielzeiten.

Brand formative design - development and assessment of product design from a future, brand and consumer perspective

With this dissertation research we investigate intersections between design and marketing and in this respect, which factors do contribute that a product design becomes brand formative. We have developed a Brand Formative Design (BFD) framework, which investigates individual design features in a holistic, comparable, brand relevant, and consumer specific context. We discuss what kinds of characteristics contribute to BFD but also illuminate how they should be applied and examine: rnA holistic framework leading to Brand Formative Design. Identification and assessment of BFD Drivers. The dissection of products into three Distinctive Design Levels. The detection of surprising design preferences. The appropriate degree of scheme deviation with evolutionary design. Simulated BFD development processes with three different products and the integration of consumers. Future oriented objectification, comparability and assessment of design. Recommendations for the management of design in a brand specific context. Design is a product feature, which contributes significantly to the success of products. However, the development of new design contains challenges. Design can hardly be objectified; many people have an opinion concerning the attractiveness of new products but cannot formulate their future preferences. Product design is widely developed based on intuition, which can be difficult for the management of design. Here the concept of Brand Formative Design can provide a framework which contributes to structure, objectify, develop and assess new evolutionary design in brand and future relevant contexts, but also integrates consumers and their preferences without restricting creativity too much.