NO-HYPE: a novel hydrodynamic phantom for the evaluation of MRI flow measurements.

Accurate and reproducible measurement of blood flow profile is very important in many clinical investigations for diagnosing cardiovascular disorders. Given that many factors could affect human circulation, and several parameters must be set to properly evaluate blood flows with phase-contrast techniques, we developed an MRI-compatible hydrodynamic phantom to simulate different physiological blood flows. The phantom included a programmable hydraulic pump connected to a series of pipes immersed in a solution mimicking human soft tissues, with a blood-mimicking fluid flowing in the pipes.

BriXS, a new X-ray inverse Compton source for medical applications.

MariX is a research infrastructure conceived for multi-disciplinary studies, based on a cutting-edge system of combined electron accelerators at the forefront of the world-wide scenario of X-ray sources. The generation of X-rays over a large photon energy range will be enabled by two unique X-ray sources: a Free Electron Laser and an inverse Compton source, called BriXS (Bright compact X-ray Source). The X-ray beam provided by BriXS is expected to have an average energy tunable in the range 20-180 keV and intensities between 10 and 10 photon/s within a relative bandwidth ΔE/E=1-10%.

Comprehensive data set to include interference effects in Monte Carlo models of x-ray coherent scattering inside biological tissues.

Interference effects are included in the x-ray coherent scattering models used in Monte Carlo codes by modifying each material form factor through a proper interference function, which is obtained directly from the measured scattering pattern. This approach is effective for non-biological materials, but it is impractical for biological tissues, due the wide composition variability they can feature. Instead, a given biological sample can be considered as a proper mixture of four basis materials: fat, water, collagen and calcium hydroxyapatite.

Mechanical Function of Internal Jugular Vein Valve: Post-analysis of M-Mode Imaging under Cardiac Monitoring.

Because the internal jugular vein (IJV) valve is the only protective valve between the brain and heart, recent studies have focused on the dynamic behaviour of the valve and its importance in regulating the cerebral blood outflow pathway. However, the mechanism underlying valve opening and closure, as well as the normal opening time, has not been investigated before. The aim of the study described here was to investigate IJV physiology in healthy young adults by means of ultrasound imaging.