Header logo is


2022


no image
Causality, causal digital twins, and their applications

Schölkopf, B.

Machine Learning for Science: Bridging Data-Driven and Mechanistic Modelling (Dagstuhl Seminar 22382), (Editors: Berens, Philipp and Cranmer, Kyle and Lawrence, Neil D. and von Luxburg, Ulrike and Montgomery, Jessica), September 2022 (talk)

ei

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2022


link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2021


no image
Physically Plausible Tracking & Reconstruction of Dynamic Objects

Strecke, M., Stückler, J.

KIT Science Week Scientific Conference & DGR-Days 2021, October 2021 (talk)

ev

[BibTex]

2021


[BibTex]


Improving Human Decision-Making by Discovering Efficient Strategies for Hierarchical Planning
Improving Human Decision-Making by Discovering Efficient Strategies for Hierarchical Planning

Heindrich, L., Consul, S., Stojcheski, J., Lieder, F.

Tübingen, Germany, The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (talk) Accepted

Abstract
The discovery of decision strategies is an essential part of creating effective cognitive tutors that teach planning and decision-making skills to humans. In the context of bounded rationality, this requires weighing the benefits of different planning operations compared to their computational costs. For small decision problems, it has already been shown that near-optimal decision strategies can be discovered automatically and that the discovered strategies can be taught to humans to increase their performance. Unfortunately, these near-optimal strategy discovery algorithms have not been able to scale well to larger problems due to their computational complexity. In this talk, we will present recent work at the Rationality Enhancement Group to overcome the computational bottleneck of existing strategy discovery algorithms. Our approach makes use of the hierarchical structure of human behavior by decomposing sequential decision problems into two sub-problems: setting a goal and planning how to achieve it. An additional metacontroller component is introduced to switch the current goal when it becomes beneficial. The hierarchical decomposition enables us to discover near-optimal strategies for human planning in larger and more complex tasks than previously possible. We then show in online experiments that teaching the discovered strategies to humans improves their performance in complex sequential decision-making tasks.

re

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Scientific Report 2016 - 2021
Scientific Report 2016 - 2021
2021 (mpi_year_book)

Abstract
This report presents research done at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems from January2016 to November 2021. It is our fourth report since the founding of the institute in 2011. Dueto the fact that the upcoming evaluation is an extended one, the report covers a longer reportingperiod.This scientific report is organized as follows: we begin with an overview of the institute, includingan outline of its structure, an introduction of our latest research departments, and a presentationof our main collaborative initiatives and activities (Chapter1). The central part of the scientificreport consists of chapters on the research conducted by the institute’s departments (Chapters2to6) and its independent research groups (Chapters7 to24), as well as the work of the institute’scentral scientific facilities (Chapter25). For entities founded after January 2016, the respectivereport sections cover work done from the date of the establishment of the department, group, orfacility. These chapters are followed by a summary of selected outreach activities and scientificevents hosted by the institute (Chapter26). The scientific publications of the featured departmentsand research groups published during the 6-year review period complete this scientific report.

ei hi ps pi rm

Scientific Report 2016 - 2021 [BibTex]

2019


no image
Multivariate coupling estimation between continuous signals and point processes

Safavi, S., Logothetis, N., Besserve, M.

Neural Information Processing Systems 2019 - Workshop on Learning with Temporal Point Processes, December 2019 (talk)

ei

Talk video link (url) [BibTex]

2019


Talk video link (url) [BibTex]


Scientific Report 2016 - 2018
Scientific Report 2016 - 2018
2019 (mpi_year_book)

Abstract
This report presents research done at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems from January 2016 to December 2018. It is our third report since the founding of the institute in 2011. This status report is organized as follows: we begin with an overview of the institute, including its organizational structure (Chapter 1). The central part of the scientific report consists of chapters on the research conducted by the institute’s departments (Chapters 2 to 5) and its independent research groups (Chapters 6 to 18), as well as the work of the institute’s central scientific facilities (Chapter 19). For entities founded after January 2016, the respective report sections cover work done from the date of the establishment of the department, group, or facility.

ei hi ps pi

Scientific Report 2016 - 2018 [BibTex]

2018


Impact of Trunk Orientation  for Dynamic Bipedal Locomotion
Impact of Trunk Orientation for Dynamic Bipedal Locomotion

Drama, Ö.

Dynamic Walking Conference, May 2018 (talk)

Abstract
Impact of trunk orientation for dynamic bipedal locomotion My research revolves around investigating the functional demands of bipedal running, with focus on stabilizing trunk orientation. When we think about postural stability, there are two critical questions we need to answer: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions to achieve and maintain trunk stability? I am concentrating on how morphology affects control strategies in achieving trunk stability. In particular, I denote the trunk pitch as the predominant morphology parameter and explore the requirements it imposes on a chosen control strategy. To analyze this, I use a spring loaded inverted pendulum model extended with a rigid trunk, which is actuated by a hip motor. The challenge for the controller design here is to have a single hip actuator to achieve two coupled tasks of moving the legs to generate motion and stabilizing the trunk. I enforce orthograde and pronograde postures and aim to identify the effect of these trunk orientations on the hip torque and ground reaction profiles for different control strategies.

dlg

Impact of trunk orientation for dynamic bipedal locomotion [DW 2018] link (url) [BibTex]


no image
Nanorobots propel through the eye

Wu, Z., Troll, J., Jeong, H., Qiang, W., Stang, M., Ziemssen, F., Wang, Z., Dong, M., Schnichels, S., Qiu, T., Fischer, P.

Max Planck Society, 2018 (mpi_year_book)

Abstract
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart developed specially coated nanometer-sized robots that could be moved actively through dense tissue like the vitreous of the eye. So far, the transport of such nano-vehicles has only been demonstrated in model systems or biological fluids, but not in real tissue. Our work constitutes one step further towards nanorobots becoming minimally-invasive tools for precisely delivering medicine to where it is needed.

pf

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]

2015


no image
Causal Inference for Empirical Time Series Based on the Postulate of Independence of Cause and Mechanism

Besserve, M.

53rd Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing, September 2015 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

2015


[BibTex]


no image
Independence of cause and mechanism in brain networks

Besserve, M.

DALI workshop on Networks: Processes and Causality, April 2015 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
Information-Theoretic Implications of Classical and Quantum Causal Structures

Chaves, R., Majenz, C., Luft, L., Maciel, T., Janzing, D., Schölkopf, B., Gross, D.

18th Conference on Quantum Information Processing (QIP), 2015 (talk)

ei

Web link (url) [BibTex]

Web link (url) [BibTex]


no image
The search for single exoplanet transits in the Kepler light curves

Foreman-Mackey, D., Hogg, D. W., Schölkopf, B.

IAU General Assembly, 22, pages: 2258352, 2015 (talk)

ei

link (url) [BibTex]

link (url) [BibTex]


no image
Unsupervised identification of neural events in local field potentials

Besserve, M., Schölkopf, B., Logothetis, N. K.

44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Neuroscience), 2014 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
Quantifying statistical dependency

Besserve, M.

Research Network on Learning Systems Summer School, 2014 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2013


no image
Studying large-scale brain networks: electrical stimulation and neural-event-triggered fMRI

Logothetis, N., Eschenko, O., Murayama, Y., Augath, M., Steudel, T., Evrard, H., Besserve, M., Oeltermann, A.

Twenty-Second Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2013), July 2013, journal = {BMC Neuroscience}, year = {2013}, month = {7}, volume = {14}, number = {Supplement 1}, pages = {A1}, (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

2013


Web [BibTex]


no image
Domain Generalization via Invariant Feature Representation

Muandet, K.

30th International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML2013), 2013 (talk)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

PDF [BibTex]

2012


no image
Support Vector Machines, Support Measure Machines, and Quasar Target Selection

Muandet, K.

Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics (CCPP), New York University, December 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

2012


[BibTex]


no image
Hilbert Space Embedding for Dirichlet Process Mixtures

Muandet, K.

NIPS Workshop on Confluence between Kernel Methods and Graphical Models, December 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
Simultaneous small animal PET/MR in activated and resting state reveals multiple brain networks

Wehrl, H., Lankes, K., Hossain, M., Bezrukov, I., Liu, C., Martirosian, P., Schick, F., Pichler, B.

20th Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), May 2012 (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
A new PET insert for simultaneous PET/MR small animal imaging

Wehrl, H., Lankes, K., Hossain, M., Bezrukov, I., Liu, C., Martirosian, P., Reischl, G., Schick, F., Pichler, B.

20th Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), May 2012 (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Evaluation of a new, large field of view, small animal PET/MR system

Hossain, M., Wehrl, H., Lankes, K., Liu, C., Bezrukov, I., Reischl, G., Pichler, B.

50. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Nuklearmedizin (NuklearMedizin), April 2012 (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Support Measure Machines for Quasar Target Selection

Muandet, K.

Astro Imaging Workshop, 2012 (talk)

Abstract
In this talk I will discuss the problem of quasar target selection. The objects attributes in astronomy such as fluxes are often subjected to substantial and heterogeneous measurement uncertainties, especially for the medium-redshift between 2.2 and 3.5 quasars which is relatively rare and must be targeted down to g ~ 22 mag. Most of the previous works for quasar target selection includes UV-excess, kernel density estimation, a likelihood approach, and artificial neural network cannot directly deal with the heterogeneous input uncertainties. Recently, extreme deconvolution (XD) has been used to tackle this problem in a well-posed manner. In this work, we present a discriminative approach for quasar target selection that can deal with input uncertainties directly. To do so, we represent each object as a Gaussian distribution whose mean is the object's attribute vector and covariance is the given flux measurement uncertainty. Given a training set of Gaussian distributions, the support measure machines (SMMs) algorithm are trained and used to build the quasar targeting catalog. Preliminary results will also be presented. Joint work with Jo Bovy and Bernhard Sch{\"o}lkopf

ei

Web [BibTex]


no image
PAC-Bayesian Analysis: A Link Between Inference and Statistical Physics

Seldin, Y.

Workshop on Statistical Physics of Inference and Control Theory, 2012 (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
PET Performance Measurements of a Next Generation Dedicated Small Animal PET/MR Scanner

Liu, C., Hossain, M., Lankes, K., Bezrukov, I., Wehrl, H., Kolb, A., Judenhofer, M., Pichler, B.

Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS-MIC), 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
Simultaneous small animal PET/MR reveals different brain networks during stimulation and rest

Wehrl, H., Hossain, M., Lankes, K., Liu, C., Bezrukov, I., Martirosian, P., Reischl, G., Schick, F., Pichler, B.

World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC), 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
PAC-Bayesian Analysis of Supervised, Unsupervised, and Reinforcement Learning

Seldin, Y., Laviolette, F., Shawe-Taylor, J.

Tutorial at the 29th International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), 2012 (talk)

ei

Web Web [BibTex]

Web Web [BibTex]


no image
Influence of MR-based attenuation correction on lesions within bone and susceptibility artifact regions

Bezrukov, I., Schmidt, H., Mantlik, F., Schwenzer, N., Brendle, C., Pichler, B.

Molekulare Bildgebung (MoBi), 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
Structured Apprenticeship Learning

Boularias, A., Kroemer, O., Peters, J.

European Workshop on Reinforcement Learning (EWRL), 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
PAC-Bayesian Analysis and Its Applications

Seldin, Y., Laviolette, F., Shawe-Taylor, J.

Tutorial at The European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECML-PKDD), 2012 (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Kernel Bellman Equations in POMDPs

Nishiyama, Y., Boularias, A., Gretton, A., Fukumizu, K.

Technical Committee on Infomation-Based Induction Sciences and Machine Learning (IBISML'12), 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


no image
Beta oscillations propagate as traveling waves in the macaque prefrontal cortex

Panagiotaropoulos, T., Besserve, M., Logothetis, N.

42nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Neuroscience), 2012 (talk)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2011


no image
Combined whole-body PET/MR imaging: MR contrast agents do not affect the quantitative accuracy of PET following attenuation correction

Lois, C., Kupferschläger, J., Bezrukov, I., Schmidt, H., Werner, M., Mannheim, J., Pichler, B., Schwenzer, N., Beyer, T.

(SST15-05 ), 97th Scientific Assemble and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), December 2011 (talk)

Abstract
PURPOSE Combined PET/MR imaging entails the use of MR contrast agents (MRCA) as part of integrated protocols. We assess additional attenuation of the PET emission signals in the presence of oral and intraveneous (iv) MRCA made up of iron oxide and Gd-chelates, respectively. METHOD AND MATERIALS Phantom scans were performed on a clinical PET/CT (Biograph HiRez16, Siemens) and integrated whole-body PET/MR (Biograph mMR, Siemens) using oral (Lumirem) and intraveneous (Gadovist) MRCA. Reference PET attenuation values were determined on a small-animal PET (Inveon, Siemens) using standard PET transmission imaging (TX). Seven syringes of 5mL were filled with (a) Water, (b) Lumirem_100 (100% conc.), (c) Gadovist_100 (100%), (d) Gadovist_18 (18%), (e) Gadovist_02 (0.2%), (f) Imeron-400 CT iv-contrast (100%) and (g) Imeron-400 (2.4%). The same set of syringes was scanned on CT (Sensation16, Siemens) at 120kVp and 160mAs. The effect of MRCA on the attenuation of PET emission data was evaluated using a 20cm cylinder filled uniformly with [18F]-FDG (FDG) in water (BGD). Three 4.5cm diameter cylinders were inserted into the phantom: (C1) Teflon, (C2) Water+FDG (2:1) and (C3) Lumirem_100+FDG (2:1). Two 50mL syringes filled with Gadovist_02+FDG (Sy1) and water+FDG (Sy2) were attached to the sides of (C1) to mimick the effects of iv-contrast in vessels near bone. Syringe-to-background activity ratio was 4-to-1. PET emission data were acquired for 10min each using the PET/CT and the PET/MR. Images were reconstructed using CT- and MR-based attenuation correction. RESULTS Mean linear PET attenuation (cm-1) on TX was (a) 0.098, (b) 0.098, (c) 0.300, (d) 0.134, (e) 0.095, (f) 0.397 and (g) 0.105. Corresponding CT attenuation (HU) was: (a) 5, (b) 14, (c) 3070, (d) 1040, (e) 13, (f) 3070 and (g) 347. Lumirem had little effect on PET attenuation with (C3) being 13% and 10% higher than (C2) on PET/CT and PET/MR, respectively. Gadovist_02 had even smaller effects with (Sy1) being 2.5% lower than (Sy2) on PET/CT and 1.2% higher than (Sy2) on PET/MR. CONCLUSION MRCA in high and clinically relevant concentrations have attenuation values similar to that of CT contrast and water, respectively. In clinical PET/MR scenarios MRCA are not expected to lead to significant attenuation of the PET emission signals.

ei

Web [BibTex]

2011


Web [BibTex]


no image
Cooperative Cuts: a new use of submodularity in image segmentation

Jegelka, S.

Second I.S.T. Austria Symposium on Computer Vision and Machine Learning, October 2011 (talk)

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Effect of MR Contrast Agents on Quantitative Accuracy of PET in Combined Whole-Body PET/MR Imaging

Lois, C., Bezrukov, I., Schmidt, H., Schwenzer, N., Werner, M., Pichler, B., Kupferschläger, J., Beyer, T.

2011(MIC3-3), 2011 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference (NSS-MIC), October 2011 (talk)

Abstract
Combined whole-body PET/MR systems are being tested in clinical practice today. Integrated imaging protocols entail the use of MR contrast agents (MRCA) that could bias PET attenuation correction. In this work, we assess the effect of MRCA in PET/MR imaging. We analyze the effect of oral and intravenous MRCA on PET activity after attenuation correction. We conclude that in clinical scenarios, MRCA are not expected to lead to significant attenuation of PET signals, and that attenuation maps are not biased after the ingestion of adequate oral contrasts.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
First Results on Patients and Phantoms of a Fully Integrated Clinical Whole-Body PET/MRI

Schmidt, H., Schwenzer, N., Bezrukov, I., Kolb, A., Mantlik, F., Kupferschläger, J., Lois, C., Sauter, A., Brendle, C., Pfannenberg, C., Pichler, B.

2011(J2-8), 2011 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference (NSS-MIC), October 2011 (talk)

Abstract
First clinical fully integrated whole-body PET/MR scanners are just entering the field. Here, we present studies toward quantification accuracy and variation within the PET field of view of small lesions from our BrainPET/MRI, a dedicated clinical brain scanner which was installed three years ago in Tbingen. Also, we present first results for patient and phantom scans of a fully integral whole-body PET/MRI, which was installed two months ago at our department. The quantification accuracy and homogeneity of the BrainPET-Insert (Siemens Medical Solutions, Germany) installed inside the magnet bore of a clinical 3T MRI scanner (Magnetom TIM Trio, Siemens Medical Solutions, Germany) was evaluated by using eight hollow spheres with inner diameters from 3.95 to 7.86 mm placed at different positions inside a homogeneous cylinder phantom with an 9:1 and 6:1 sphere to background ratio. The quantification accuracy for small lesions at different positions in the PET FoV shows a standard deviation of up to 11% and is acceptable for quantitative brain studies where the homogeneity of quantification on the entire FoV is essental. Image quality and resolution of the new Siemens whole-body PET/MR system (Biograph mMR, Siemens Medical Solutions, Germany) was evaluated according to the NEMA NU2 2007 protocol using a body phantom containing six spheres with inner diameter from 10 to 37 mm at sphere to background ratios of 8:1 and 4:1 and the F-18 point sources located at different positions inside the PET FoV, respectively. The evaluation of the whole-body PET/MR system reveals a good PET image quality and resolution comparable to state-of-the-art clinical PET/CT scanners. First images of patient studies carried out at the whole-body PET/MR are presented highlighting the potency of combined PET/MR imaging.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Effect of MR contrast agents on quantitative accuracy of PET in combined whole-body PET/MR imaging

Lois, C., Kupferschläger, J., Bezrukov, I., Schmidt, H., Werner, M., Mannheim, J., Pichler, B., Schwenzer, N., Beyer, T.

(OP314), Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), October 2011 (talk)

Abstract
PURPOSE:Combined PET/MR imaging entails the use of MR contrast agents (MRCA) as part of integrated protocols. MRCA are made up of iron oxide and Gd-chelates for oral and intravenous (iv) application, respectively. We assess additional attenuation of the PET emission signals in the presence of oral and iv MRCA.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Phantom scans were performed on a clinical PET/CT (Biograph HiRez16, Siemens) and an integrated whole-body PET/MR (Biograph mMR, Siemens). Two common MRCA were evaluated: Lumirem (oral) and Gadovist (iv).Reference PET attenuation values were determined on a dedicated small-animal PET (Inveon, Siemens) using equivalent standard PET transmission source imaging (TX). Seven syringes of 5mL were filled with (a) Water, (b) Lumirem_100 (100% concentration), (c) Gadovist_100 (100%), (d) Gadovist_18 (18%), (e) Gadovist_02 (0.2%), (f) Imeron-400 CT iv-contrast (100%) and (g) Imeron-400 (2.4%). The same set of syringes was scanned on CT (Sensation16, Siemens) at 120kVp and 160mAs.The effect of MRCA on the attenuation of PET emission data was evaluated using a 20cm cylinder filled uniformly with [18F]-FDG (FDG) in water (BGD). Three 4.5cm diameter cylinders were inserted into the phantom: (C1) Teflon, (C2) Water+FDG (2:1) and (C3) Lumirem_100+FDG (2:1). Two 50mL syringes filled with Gadovist_02+FDG (Sy1) and water+FDG (Sy2) were attached to the sides of (C1) to mimick the effects of iv-contrast in vessels near bone. Syringe-to-background activity ratio was 4-to-1.PET emission data were acquired for 10min each using the PET/CT and the PET/MR. Images were reconstructed using CT- and MR-based attenuation correction (AC). Since Teflon is not correctly identified on MR, PET(/MR) data were reconstructed using MR-AC and CT-AC.RESULTS:Mean linear PET attenuation (cm-1) on TX was (a) 0.098, (b) 0.098, (c) 0.300, (d) 0.134, (e) 0.095, (f) 0.397 and (g) 0.105. Corresponding CT attenuation (HU) was: (a) 5, (b) 14, (c) 3070, (d) 1040, (e) 13, (f) 3070 and (g) 347.Lumirem had little effect on PET attenuation with (C3) being 13%, 10% and 11% higher than (C2) on PET/CT, PET/MR with MR-AC, and PET/MR with CT-AC, respectively. Gadovist_02 had even smaller effects with (Sy1) being 2.5% lower, 1.2% higher, and 3.5% lower than (Sy2) on PET/CT, PET/MR with MR-AC and PET/MR with CT-AC, respectively.CONCLUSION:MRCA in high and clinically relevant concentrations have attenuation values similar to that of CT contrast and water, respectively. In clinical PET/MR scenarios MRCA are not expected to lead to significant attenuation of the PET emission signals.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Multi-parametric Tumor Characterization and Therapy Monitoring using Simultaneous PET/MRI: initial results for Lung Cancer and GvHD

Sauter, A., Schmidt, H., Gueckel, B., Brendle, C., Bezrukov, I., Mantlik, F., Kolb, A., Mueller, M., Reimold, M., Federmann, B., Hetzel, J., Claussen, C., Pfannenberg, C., Horger, M., Pichler, B., Schwenzer, N.

(T110), 2011 World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC), September 2011 (talk)

Abstract
Hybrid imaging modalities such as [18F]FDG-PET/CT are superior in staging of e.g. lung cancer disease compared with stand-alone modalities. Clinical PET/MRI systems are about to enter the field of hybrid imaging and offer potential advantages. One added value could be a deeper insight into the tumor metabolism and tumorigenesis due to the combination of PET and dedicated MR methods such as MRS and DWI. Additionally, therapy monitoring of diffucult to diagnose disease such as chronic sclerodermic GvHD (csGvHD) can potentially be improved by this combination. We have applied PET/MRI in 3 patients with lung cancer and 4 patients with csGvHD before and during therapy. All 3 patients had lung cancer confirmed by histology (2 adenocarcinoma, 1 carcinoid). First, a [18F]FDG-PET/CT was performed with the following parameters: injected dose 351.7±25.1 MBq, uptake time 59.0±2.6 min, 3 min/bed. Subsequently, patients were brought to the PET/MRI imaging facility. The whole-body PET/MRI Biograph mMR system comprises 56 detector cassettes with a 59.4 cm transaxial and 25.8 cm axial FoV. The MRI is a modified Verio system with a magnet bore of 60 cm. The following parameters for PET acquisition were applied: uptake time 121.3±2.3 min, 3 bed positions, 6 min/bed. T1w, T2w, and DWI MR images were recorded simultaneously for each bed. Acquired PET data were reconstructed with an iterative 3D OSEM algorithm using 3 iterations and 21 subsets, Gaussian filter of 3 mm. The 4 patients with GvHD were brought to the brainPET/MRI imaging facility 2:10h-2:28h after tracer injection. A 9 min brainPET-acquisition with simultaneous MRI of the lower extremities was accomplished. MRI examination included T1-weighted (pre and post gadolinium) and T2-weighted sequences. Attenuation correction was calculated based on manual bone segmentation and thresholds for soft tissue, fat and air. Soleus muscle (m), crural fascia (f1) and posterior crural intermuscular septum fascia (f2) were surrounded with ROIs based on the pre-treatment T1-weighted images and coregistered using IRW (Siemens). Fascia-to-muscle ratios for PET (f/m), T1 contrast uptake (T1_post-contrast_f-pre-contrast_f/post-contrast_m-pre-contrast_m) and T2 (T2_f/m) were calculated. Both patients with adenocarcinoma show a lower ADC value compared with the carcinoid patient suggesting a higher cellularity. This is also reflected in FDG-PET with higher SUV values. Our initial results reveal that PET/MRI can provide complementary information for a profound tumor characterization and therapy monitoring. The high soft tissue contrast provided by MRI is valuable for the assessment of the fascial inflammation. While in the first patient FDG and contrast uptake as well as edema, represented by T2 signals, decreased with ongoing therapy, all parameters remained comparatively stable in the second patient. Contrary to expectations, an increase in FDG uptake of patient 3 and 4 was accompanied by an increase of the T2 signals, but a decrease in contrast uptake. These initial results suggest that PET/MRI provides complementary information of the complex disease mechanisms in fibrosing disorders.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Statistical Image Analysis and Percolation Theory

Langovoy, M., Habeck, M., Schölkopf, B.

2011 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM), August 2011 (talk)

Abstract
We develop a novel method for detection of signals and reconstruction of images in the presence of random noise. The method uses results from percolation theory. We specifically address the problem of detection of multiple objects of unknown shapes in the case of nonparametric noise. The noise density is unknown and can be heavy-tailed. The objects of interest have unknown varying intensities. No boundary shape constraints are imposed on the objects, only a set of weak bulk conditions is required. We view the object detection problem as hypothesis testing for discrete statistical inverse problems. We present an algorithm that allows to detect greyscale objects of various shapes in noisy images. We prove results on consistency and algorithmic complexity of our procedures. Applications to cryo-electron microscopy are presented.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Cooperative Cuts

Jegelka, S.

COSA Workshop: Combinatorial Optimization, Statistics, and Applications, March 2011 (talk)

Abstract
Combinatorial problems with submodular cost functions have recently drawn interest. In a standard combinatorial problem, the sum-of-weights cost is replaced by a submodular set function. The result is a powerful model that is though very hard. In this talk, I will introduce cooperative cuts, minimum cuts with submodular edge weights. I will outline methods to approximately solve this problem, and show an application in computer vision. If time permits, the talk will also sketch regret-minimizing online algorithms for submodular-cost combinatorial problems. This is joint work with Jeff Bilmes (University of Washington).

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]

2010


no image
Comparative Quantitative Evaluation of MR-Based Attenuation Correction Methods in Combined Brain PET/MR

Mantlik, F., Hofmann, M., Bezrukov, I., Kolb, A., Beyer, T., Reimold, M., Pichler, B., Schölkopf, B.

2010(M08-4), 2010 Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS-MIC), November 2010 (talk)

Abstract
Combined PET/MR provides at the same time molecular and functional imaging as well as excellent soft tissue contrast. It does not allow one to directly measure the attenuation properties of scanned tissues, despite the fact that accurate attenuation maps are necessary for quantitative PET imaging. Several methods have therefore been proposed for MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC). So far, they have only been evaluated on data acquired from separate MR and PET scanners. We evaluated several MR-AC methods on data from 10 patients acquired on a combined BrainPET/MR scanner. This allowed the consideration of specific PET/MR issues, such as the RF coil that attenuates and scatters 511 keV gammas. We evaluated simple MR thresholding methods as well as atlas and machine learning-based MR-AC. CT-based AC served as gold standard reference. To comprehensively evaluate the MR-AC accuracy, we used RoIs from 2 anatomic brain atlases with different levels of detail. Visual inspection of the PET images indicated that even the basic FLASH threshold MR-AC may be sufficient for several applications. Using a UTE sequence for bone prediction in MR-based thresholding occasionally led to false prediction of bone tissue inside the brain, causing a significant overestimation of PET activity. Although it yielded a lower mean underestimation of activity, it exhibited the highest variance of all methods. The atlas averaging approach had a smaller mean error, but showed high maximum overestimation on the RoIs of the more detailed atlas. The Nave Bayes and Atlas-Patch MR-AC yielded the smallest variance, and the Atlas-Patch also showed the smallest mean error. In conclusion, Atlas-based AC using only MR information on the BrainPET/MR yields a high level of accuracy that is sufficient for clinical quantitative imaging requirements. The Atlas-Patch approach was superior to alternative atlas-based methods, yielding a quantification error below 10% for all RoIs except very small ones.

ei

[BibTex]

2010


[BibTex]


no image
Statistical image analysis and percolation theory

Davies, P., Langovoy, M., Wittich, O.

73rd Annual Meeting of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS), August 2010 (talk)

Abstract
We develop a novel method for detection of signals and reconstruction of images in the presence of random noise. The method uses results from percolation theory. We specifically address the problem of detection of objects of unknown shapes in the case of nonparametric noise. The noise density is unknown and can be heavy-tailed. We view the object detection problem as hypothesis testing for discrete statistical inverse problems. We present an algorithm that allows to detect objects of various shapes in noisy images. We prove results on consistency and algorithmic complexity of our procedures.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


no image
Statistical image analysis and percolation theory

Langovoy, M., Wittich, O.

28th European Meeting of Statisticians (EMS), August 2010 (talk)

ei

PDF Web [BibTex]

PDF Web [BibTex]


no image
Cooperative Cuts: Graph Cuts with Submodular Edge Weights

Jegelka, S., Bilmes, J.

24th European Conference on Operational Research (EURO XXIV), July 2010 (talk)

Abstract
We introduce cooperative cut, a minimum cut problem whose cost is a submodular function on sets of edges: the cost of an edge that is added to a cut set depends on the edges in the set. Applications are e.g. in probabilistic graphical models and image processing. We prove NP hardness and a polynomial lower bound on the approximation factor, and upper bounds via four approximation algorithms based on different techniques. Our additional heuristics have attractive practical properties, e.g., to rely only on standard min-cut. Both our algorithms and heuristics appear to do well in practice.

ei

PDF Web [BibTex]

PDF Web [BibTex]