PRESENTATIONS (2)
Student presentation:
Dylan Malenfant (Carleton University)
“An AI Tool for Identification of Candidate Scans for Respiratory Motion Compensation”
Respiratory motion has the potential to cause significant degradation to SPECT myocardial perfusion images, with approximately 30% of patients showing respiratory motion of at least 10 mm during stress imaging. While motion compensation (MC) is possible, current methods rely on the reconstruction of gated image sets, making the process time consuming to perform. In addition, it is not valuable in cases where patient motion is not significant. This work presents an AI tool developed to estimate the extent of respiratory motion based on projection images prior to reconstruction. This process takes seconds, allowing for screening of patients to determine where MC holds diagnostic value. We will discuss the accuracy and limitations of this tool which is currently in use at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Member presentation:
Malcolm McEwen (National Research Council Canada)
“Better safe than sorry? The role of radioactive sources in ionizing radiation metrology”
Since the original discovery by Becquerel in 1896, radioactive sources have found numerous applications, including radiation sterilization, well-logging, cancer therapy, radiography, and environmental pathway tracing. Radioactive sources are also critical to the field of ionizing radiation metrology, providing reliable calibration fields and reference sources for detector characterization and long-term monitoring of measurement standards.
Over recent years there has been increased pressure on the use of radioactive sources in many of these applications, driven primarily by security concerns. Although metrology uses of radioactive sources are not a primary focus of regulators, there are already challenges in obtaining suitable sources and/or maintaining existing irradiators containing radioactive sources. In light of this, the Consultative Committee on Ionizing Radiation (CCRI) of the BIPM (Bureau Internatonal des Poids et Mesures) formed a task group to look at the role of radioactive sources in ionizing radiation metrology and the potential options for alternatives.
This presentation will describe the work of the CCRI TG, highlighting the current situation, immediate and future challenges, and options for maintaining accurate measurement standards and calibration services.