Purpose: To use a volume-selective 3D turbo spin echo (TSE) technique to image the carotid artery wall and measure distensibility. Materials and Methods:A high-resolution volume-selective 3D TSE sequence has been developed. Volume selection is accomplished by orthogonal gradients for the 90°a nd 180°excitations and allows a 3D volume of vessel wall to be imaged in a relatively short time. The technique has been developed to allow imaging at any defined phase of the cardiac cycle so that the vascular function and distensibility can be studied.Results: Scan efficiency is increased by the reduced phase encode field of view (FOV) (k y steps) by the use of selective volume excitation. Significantly more slices (k z phase encode steps) for vessel coverage can be acquired with the same scan time as that of the conventional sequence while maintaining signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels. The practical value of the technique was demonstrated on 10 normal subjects with high-resolution vessel distensibility measurements of the carotid arteries. Conclusion:A volume-selective TSE method has been used for carotid artery wall imaging and measurement of distensibility in normal subjects. Larger coverage of the vessel, and therefore more information for clinical diagnostics, was achieved with the same overall scan time with an SNR comparable to that of 2D full FOV images.

The next generation of industrial advancement which is referred as Industry 4.0 aims to inter-connect and computerize the traditional industrys such as manufacturing. The objective in Industry 4.0 is to make the factories smart enough in terms of improved adaptability, resource efficiency as well as the improved integration of supply and demand processes between the factories. Wireless communication will play a key role in enabling the Industry 4.0 systems and technologies. In this paper we focus the discussion on some of the key wireless communication challenges that will need to be met for the Industry 4.0 era. We look at how the 5 th generation of communication standard may address these requirements. For machine to machine communication the three main design criterions that can be considered are latency, longevity and the reliability of communication. We take an example of WiFi communication, and benchmark it against the requirements, so as to emphasize the improvements required in wireless protocols.

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Purpose:To improve 3D volume-selective turbo spin echo (TSE) carotid artery wall imaging by incorporating navigators to reduce artifacts caused by swallowing. Materials and Methods:Images were acquired on a Siemens Magnetom Sonata 1.5T scanner. 3D volume-selective TSE scans of the carotid arteries were acquired in six healthy volunteers. A cross-pair navigator placed on the back of the tongue was used to detect swallowing and movement. Two swallowing patterns were tested: 1) a single swallow approximately halfway through the scan time, at the center of k z , and 2) repeated swallowing as often as possible throughout the scan period. Images were acquired with and without navigators for comparison. Signal intensity in the lumen was quantified for the quality of blood suppression, and the clarity of the vessel wall in the common carotid was ranked by four independent blinded observers. Results:In general, lower signal intensity was recorded in the lumen, and decreased blurring and ghosting were observed on scans with navigator control. This reduction in lumen signal intensity signifies an improvement in the black-blood imaging technique. The differences likely reflect the improved double inversion/blood suppression efficiency due to cycles being rejected when the heart rate changed at the point of swallowing, or decreased motional blurring/ghosting of tissue when the navigator is used, or a combination of these two effects. A statistical analysis of image quality showed a significant difference between navigated and non-navigated scans as scored by four independent, blinded observers. For both swallowing patterns, the mean score for the navigator images was on average 0.6 greater than that of non-navigator images (on a scoring scale of 0 -5, where 0 ϭ no vessel visible, and 5 ϭ good delineation and blood suppression) and P-values for all observers were less than 0.01. Overall, the central swallow scans were scored higher than the repeated swallow scans. One reason for this may be the fact that the heart rate increased on swallowing, and this often lasted for one or two cardiac cycles after the navigator returned to the normal acceptance position. The effect of the increased heart rate after swallowing is likely to have an effect on double inversion blood suppression efficiency. Therefore, the increased amount of heart rate changes with repeated swallowing may have a greater adverse effect, even if the navigator rejects data views during the swallowing motion. Conclusion:The clarity of vessel wall delineation and the apparent efficiency of blood suppression are reduced by swallowing during acquisition. Both motion blurring and quality of blood suppression are factors that can be improved with the use of a navigator accept/reject method.