Floorplanning with I/O Assignment via Feasibility-Seeking and Superiorization Methods.

The feasibility-seeking approach offers a systematic framework for managing and resolving intricate constraints in continuous problems, making it a promising avenue to explore in the context of floorplanning problems with increasingly heterogeneous constraints. The classic legality constraints can be expressed as the union of convex sets. However, conventional projection-based algorithms for feasibility-seeking do not guarantee convergence in such situations, which are also heavily influenced by the initialization.

Immunity to Increasing Condition Numbers of Linear Superiorization versus Linear Programming.

Given a family of linear constraints and a linear objective function one can consider whether to apply a Linear Programming (LP) algorithm or use a Linear Superiorization (LinSup) algorithm on this data. In the LP methodology one aims at finding a point that fulfills the constraints and has the minimal value of the objective function over these constraints. The Linear Superiorization approach considers the same data as linear programming problems but instead of attempting to solve those with linear optimization methods it employs perturbation resilient feasibility-seeking algorithms and steers them toward feasible points with reduced (not necessarily minimal) objective function values.

The alternating simultaneous Halpern-Lions-Wittmann-Bauschke algorithm for finding the best approximation pair for two disjoint intersections of convex sets.

Given two nonempty and disjoint intersections of closed and convex subsets, we look for a best approximation pair relative to them, i.e., a pair of points, one in each intersection, attaining the minimum distance between the disjoint intersections.

APPROACHES TO ITERATIVE ALGORITHMS FOR SOLVING NONLINEAR EQUATIONS WITH AN APPLICATION IN TOMOGRAPHIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY.

In this paper we propose an approach for solving systems of nonlinear equations without computing function derivatives. Motivated by the application area of tomographic absorption spectroscopy, which is a highly-nonlinear problem with variables coupling, we consider a situation where straightforward translation to a fixed point problem is not possible because the operators that represent the relevant systems of nonlinear equations are not self-mappings, i.e.

Superiorization of projection algorithms for linearly constrained inverse radiotherapy treatment planning.

Objective: We apply the superiorization methodology to the constrained intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning problem. Superiorization combines a feasibility-seeking projection algorithm with objective function reduction: The underlying projection algorithm is perturbed with gradient descent steps to steer the algorithm towards a solution with a lower objective function value compared to one obtained solely through feasibility-seeking.

Approach: Within the open-source inverse planning toolkit matRad, we implement a prototypical algorithmic framework for superiorization using the well-established Agmon, Motzkin, and Schoenberg (AMS) feasibility-seeking projection algorithm and common nonlinear dose optimization objective functions.

Ionization detail parameters and cluster dose: a mathematical model for selection of nanodosimetric quantities for use in treatment planning in charged particle radiotherapy.

. To propose a mathematical model for applying ionization detail (ID), the detailed spatial distribution of ionization along a particle track, to proton and ion beam radiotherapy treatment planning (RTP)..

Per-RMAP: Feasibility-Seeking and Superiorization Methods for Floorplanning with I/O Assignment.

The feasibility-seeking approach provides a systematic scheme to manage and solve complex constraints for continuous problems, and we explore it for the floorplanning problems with increasingly heterogeneous constraints. The classic legality constraints can be formulated as the union of convex sets. However, the convergence of conventional projection-based algorithms is not guaranteed when the constraints sets are non-convex, which is the case with unions of convex sets.

Dynamic string-averaging CQ-methods for the split feasibility problem with percentage violation constraints arising in radiation therapy treatment planning.

We study a feasibility-seeking problem with percentage violation constraints (PVCs). These are additional constraints that are appended to an existing family of constraints, which single out certain subsets of the existing constraints and declare that up to a specified fraction of the number of constraints in each subset is allowed to be violated by up to a specified percentage of the existing bounds. Our motivation to investigate problems with PVCs comes from the field of radiation therapy treatment planning (RTTP) wherein the fully discretized inverse planning problem is formulated as a split feasibility problem and the PVCs give rise to nonconvex constraints.

Derivative-free superiorization with component-wise perturbations.

Superiorization reduces, not necessarily minimizes, the value of a target function while seeking constraints compatibility. This is done by taking a solely feasibility-seeking algorithm, analyzing its perturbation resilience, and proactively perturbing its iterates accordingly to steer them toward a feasible point with reduced value of the target function. When the perturbation steps are computationally efficient, this enables generation of a superior result with essentially the same computational cost as that of the original feasibility-seeking algorithm.

An Improved Method of Total Variation Superiorization Applied to Reconstruction in Proton Computed Tomography.

Previous work has shown that total variation superiorization (TVS) improves reconstructed image quality in proton computed tomography (pCT). The structure of the TVS algorithm has evolved since then and this paper investigated if this new algorithmic structure provides additional benefits to pCT image quality. Structural and parametric changes introduced to the original TVS algorithm included: (1) inclusion or exclusion of TV reduction requirement, (2) a variable number, N , of TV perturbation steps per feasibility-seeking iteration, and (3) introduction of a perturbation kernel .

Can Linear Superiorization Be Useful for Linear Optimization Problems?

Linear superiorization considers linear programming problems but instead of attempting to solve them with linear optimization methods it employs perturbation resilient feasibility-seeking algorithms and steers them toward reduced (not necessarily minimal) target function values. The two questions that we set out to explore experimentally are (i) Does linear superiorization provide a feasible point whose linear target function value is lower than that obtained by running the same feasibility-seeking algorithm without superiorization under identical conditions? and (ii) How does linear superiorization fare in comparison with the Simplex method for solving linear programming problems? Based on our computational experiments presented here, the answers to these two questions are: "yes" and "very well", respectively.

Sparsity constrained split feasibility for dose-volume constraints in inverse planning of intensity-modulated photon or proton therapy.

A split feasibility formulation for the inverse problem of intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatment planning with dose-volume constraints included in the planning algorithm is presented. It involves a new type of sparsity constraint that enables the inclusion of a percentage-violation constraint in the model problem and its handling by continuous (as opposed to integer) methods. We propose an iterative algorithmic framework for solving such a problem by applying the feasibility-seeking CQ-algorithm of Byrne combined with the automatic relaxation method that uses cyclic projections.

Superiorization: an optimization heuristic for medical physics.

Purpose: To describe and mathematically validate the superiorization methodology, which is a recently developed heuristic approach to optimization, and to discuss its applicability to medical physics problem formulations that specify the desired solution (of physically given or otherwise obtained constraints) by an optimization criterion.

Methods: The superiorization methodology is presented as a heuristic solver for a large class of constrained optimization problems. The constraints come from the desire to produce a solution that is constraints-compatible, in the sense of meeting requirements provided by physically or otherwise obtained constraints.

From analytic inversion to contemporary IMRT optimization: radiation therapy planning revisited from a mathematical perspective.

In this paper we look at the development of radiation therapy treatment planning from a mathematical point of view. Historically, planning for Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) has been considered as an inverse problem. We discuss first the two fundamental approaches that have been investigated to solve this inverse problem: Continuous analytic inversion techniques on one hand, and fully-discretized algebraic methods on the other hand.

The Subgradient Extragradient Method for Solving Variational Inequalities in Hilbert Space.

We present a subgradient extragradient method for solving variational inequalities in Hilbert space. In addition, we propose a modified version of our algorithm that finds a solution of a variational inequality which is also a fixed point of a given nonexpansive mapping. We establish weak convergence theorems for both algorithms.

The Split Common Fixed Point Problem for Directed Operators.

We propose the split common fixed point problem that requires to find a common fixed point of a family of operators in one space whose image under a linear transformation is a common fixed point of another family of operators in the image space. We formulate and analyze a parallel algorithm for solving this split common fixed point problem for the class of directed operators and note how it unifies and generalizes previously discussed problems and algorithms.

Total variation superiorization schemes in proton computed tomography image reconstruction.

Purpose: Iterative projection reconstruction algorithms are currently the preferred reconstruction method in proton computed tomography (pCT). However, due to inconsistencies in the measured data arising from proton energy straggling and multiple Coulomb scattering, the noise in the reconstructed image increases with successive iterations. In the current work, the authors investigated the use of total variation superiorization (TVS) schemes that can be applied as an algorithmic add-on to perturbation-resilient iterative projection algorithms for pCT image reconstruction.

Toward truly optimal IMRT dose distribution: inverse planning with voxel-specific penalty.

Purpose: To establish an inverse planning framework with adjustable voxel penalty for more conformal IMRT dose distribution as well as improved interactive controllability over the regional dose distribution of the resultant plan.

Materials And Method: In the proposed coarse-to-fine planning scheme, a conventional inverse planning with organ specific parameters is first performed. The voxel penalty scheme is then "switched on" by allowing the prescription dose to change on an individual voxel scale according to the deviation of the actual voxel dose from the ideally desired dose.

Perturbation Resilience and Superiorization of Iterative Algorithms.

Iterative algorithms aimed at solving some problems are discussed. For certain problems, such as finding a common point in the intersection of a finite number of convex sets, there often exist iterative algorithms that impose very little demand on computer resources. For other problems, such as finding that point in the intersection at which the value of a given function is optimal, algorithms tend to need more computer memory and longer execution time.

A Note on the Behavior of the Randomized Kaczmarz Algorithm of Strohmer and Vershynin.

In a recent paper by T. Strohmer and R. Vershynin ["A Randomized Kaczmarz Algorithm with Exponential Convergence", Journal of Fourier Analysis and Applications, published online on April 25, 2008] a "randomized Kaczmarz algorithm" is proposed for solving systems of linear equations [Formula: see text] .

On the String Averaging Method for Sparse Common Fixed Points Problems.

We study the common fixed point problem for the class of directed operators. This class is important because many commonly used nonlinear operators in convex optimization belong to it. We propose a definition of sparseness of a family of operators and investigate a string-averaging algorithmic scheme that favorably handles the common fixed points problem when the family of operators is sparse.

Perturbation-resilient block-iterative projection methods with application to image reconstruction from projections.

A block-iterative projection algorithm for solving the consistent convex feasibility problem in a finite-dimensional Euclidean space that is resilient to bounded and summable perturbations (in the sense that convergence to a feasible point is retained even if such perturbations are introduced in each iterative step of the algorithm) is proposed. This resilience can be used to steer the iterative process towards a feasible point that is superior in the sense of some functional on the points in the Euclidean space having a small value. The potential usefulness of this is illustrated in image reconstruction from projections, using both total variation and negative entropy as the functional.

Projections Onto Super-Half-Spaces for Monotone Variational Inequality Problems in Finite-Dimensional Space.

The variational inequality problem (VIP) is considered here. We present a general algorithmic scheme which employs projections onto hyperplanes that separate balls from the feasible set of the VIP instead of projections onto the feasible set itself. Our algorithmic scheme includes the classical projection method and Fukushima's subgradient projection method as special cases.

On The Behavior of Subgradient Projections Methods for Convex Feasibility Problems in Euclidean Spaces.

We study some methods of subgradient projections for solving a convex feasibility problem with general (not necessarily hyperplanes or half-spaces) convex sets in the inconsistent case and propose a strategy that controls the relaxation parameters in a specific self-adapting manner. This strategy leaves enough user-flexibility but gives a mathematical guarantee for the algorithm's behavior in the inconsistent case. We present numerical results of computational experiments that illustrate the computational advantage of the new method.

On Linear Infeasibility Arising in Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Inverse Planning.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) gives rise to systems of linear inequalities, representing the effects of radiation on the irradiated body. These systems are often infeasible, in which case one settles for an approximate solution, such as an {α, β}-relaxation, meaning that no more than α percent of the inequalities are violated by no more than β percent. For real-world IMRT problems, there is a feasible {α, β}-relaxation for sufficiently large α, β > 0, however large values of these parameters may be unacceptable medically.