Abstract: A method for remediating contaminated soil and groundwater includes selecting a treatment material and creating a smolderable mixture of a contaminant, the treatment material, and soil.

Abstract: A method destroys organic liquid contaminants contained in a plurality of below-ground volumes by smoldering combustion. The method applies heat to at least a portion of a first one of the volumes of organic liquid and forces oxidant into the first volume of organic liquid so as to initiate self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the first volume of organic liquid. The method may terminate the heat applied to the first volume of organic liquid. Next, the method modulates the flow of the oxidant into the first volume of organic liquid so as to cause at least a portion of the first volume of organic liquid to migrate and come into contact with another one of the volumes of organic liquid, so as to propagate the smoldering combustion. In an alternative embodiment, the flow of the oxidant may be modulated to establish a substantially stationary combustion front.

Abstract: A method and system for automatically detecting systemic arteries in arbitrary field-of-view computed tomography angiography (CTA) includes fully-automatically analyzing a medical image represented by a digital image representation.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus, and a system for labeling one or more parts of a spine in at least one magnetic resonance image of a human or animal body, includes transforming the image having a first number of intensity levels into a target image having a second number of intensity levels, the second number of intensity levels being smaller than the first number of intensity levels, preferably by considering the entropy of texture variations in one or more training images; determining a position, in particular a center position, in each of the one or more parts of the spine in the target image; and labeling the determined position of the one or more parts of the spine in the image or the target image with anatomical labels.

Abstract: A method, and an according apparatus and system, for analyzing medical images of blood vessels includes the steps of a) classifying a surrounding of at least one vessel represented in at least one medical image by applying a first classifier to the medical image such that the surrounding of the vessel is assigned to one of at least two surrounding classes, and b) segmentation of the at least one vessel dependent on the surrounding class to which the surrounding of the vessel has been assigned. The invention allows for a reliable segmentation and/or shape detection, in particular bifurcation detection, of blood vessels represented in medical images.

Abstract: A method, and an according apparatus and system, for segmentation of anatomical structures in medical images includes segmenting an anatomical structure represented in a medical image by applying an algorithm based on a morphological active contour without edges (MACWE) to the medical image, wherein in the algorithm based on the morphological active contour without edges one or more features relating to a surrounding and/or context of the anatomical structure represented in the medical image are considered.

Abstract: Operations include storing and/or accessing data in tape volume containers. A system receives a request to access a tape block in a data storage tape. The system maps the requested tape block in the data storage tape to an object in a container. The system then retrieves data from the object in the container. The system generates, from the retrieved data, a data stream in tape archive format. The system transmits the data stream, in tape archive format, in response to the request to access the tape block in the data storage tape.

Abstract: Methods are provided for generating or recovering gaseous materials such as hydrogen and solids such as metals through the smoldering combustion of an organic material. The methods include admixing a porous matrix material with an organic material, and, in some embodiments a catalyst, to produce a porous mixture. The mixture is exposed to an oxidant, initiating a self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the mixture, and collecting the vapors and combustion products or processing the porous matrix following combustion to physically separate the porous matrix material from ash containing inorganic materials of value. Additional embodiments aggregate the organic material or catalyst or porous matrix material or mixture thereof in an impoundment such as a reaction vessel, lagoon or matrix pile. Further embodiments utilize at least one heater to initiate combustion and at least one air supply port to supply oxidant to initiate and maintain combustion.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for reliably identifying a specific part of a spine in an image of a human or animal body, includes the steps of determining one or more parts of the spine in the image, determining one or more discriminative parameters for each of the one or more parts of the spine in the image, the discriminative parameters relating to at least one anatomical property of each of the one or more parts of the spine, classifying the discriminative parameters of the one or more parts of the spine in the image, and identifying a specific part of the spine based on the classification of the discriminative parameters of the one or more parts of the spine in the image. An identified vertebra, in particular the T12 vertebra and/or its associated intervertebral discs, can be used advantageously as a starting point of powerful automatic spine labeling algorithms.

Abstract: A method destroys organic liquid contaminants contained in a plurality of below-ground volumes by smoldering combustion. The method applies heat to at least a portion of a first one of the volumes of organic liquid and forces oxidant into the first volume of organic liquid so as to initiate self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the first volume of organic liquid. The method may terminate the heat applied to the first volume of organic liquid. Next, the method modulates the flow of the oxidant into the first volume of organic liquid so as to cause at least a portion of the first volume of organic liquid to migrate and come into contact with another one of the volumes of organic liquid, so as to propagate the smoldering combustion. In an alternative embodiment, the flow of the oxidant may be modulated to establish a substantially stationary combustion front.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus, and a system label one or more parts of a spine in an image, in particular a computed tomography (CT) image, of a human or animal body, and in order to achieve a reliable spine labeling and a high throughput of images, match a model of a spine segment with segments of the spine in the image by starting matching the model of a spine segment with an initial segment of the spine in the image, wherein the initial segment of the spine in the image is located at an initial position along the spine in the image, and continue to match the model of a spine segment with one or more further segments of the spine in the image, wherein the further segments of the spine in the image are located at positions farther along the spine in the image.

Abstract: A method and a corresponding apparatus and system localizes a spine in an image, in particular a computed tomography (CT) image, of a human or animal body, allowing for a reduced need for computational power and/or memory on the one hand and assuring a reliable localization of the spine on the other hand. The method includes a) acquiring a plurality of slice images of at least a part of a human or animal body, and b) automatically selecting slice images and/or parts of slice images from the acquired plurality of slice images by considering at least one parameter (?z, ?z, ?z, ?z) characterizing a distribution of bones in the acquired slice images, wherein the selected slice images and/or parts of the slice images includes image information about the spine.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for reliably identifying a specific part of a spine in an image of a human or animal body, includes the steps of determining one or more parts of the spine in the image, determining one or more discriminative parameters for each of the one or more parts of the spine in the image, the discriminative parameters relating to at least one anatomical property of each of the one or more parts of the spine, classifying the discriminative parameters of the one or more parts of the spine in the image, and identifying a specific part of the spine based on the classification of the discriminative parameters of the one or more parts of the spine in the image. An identified vertebra, in particular the T12 vertebra and/or its associated intervertebral discs, can be used advantageously as a starting point of powerful automatic spine labeling algorithms.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus, and a system label one or more parts of a spine in an image, in particular a computed tomography (CT) image, of a human or animal body, and in order to achieve a reliable spine labeling and a high throughput of images, match a model of a spine segment with segments of the spine in the image by starting matching the model of a spine segment with an initial segment of the spine in the image, wherein the initial segment of the spine in the image is located at an initial position along the spine in the image, and continue to match the model of a spine segment with one or more further segments of the spine in the image, wherein the further segments of the spine in the image are located at positions farther along the spine in the image.

Abstract: A method and a corresponding apparatus and system localizes a spine in an image, in particular a computed tomography (CT) image, of a human or animal body, allowing for a reduced need for computational power and/or memory on the one hand and assuring a reliable localization of the spine on the other hand. The method includes a) acquiring a plurality of slice images of at least a part of a human or animal body, and b) automatically selecting slice images and/or parts of slice images from the acquired plurality of slice images by considering at least one parameter (?z, ?z, ?z, ?z) characterizing a distribution of bones in the acquired slice images, wherein the selected slice images and/or parts of the slice images includes image information about the spine.

Abstract: Methods are provided for the volumetric reduction of organic liquids. The methods comprise admixing a porous matrix material with an organic liquid to produce a mixture, forcing oxidant through the mixture, and initiating a self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the mixture. Additional embodiments aggregate the organic liquid or porous matrix material or mixture thereof in an impoundment such as a reaction vessel, lagoon or matrix pile. Further embodiments utilize at least one heater to initiate combustion and at least one air supply port to supply oxidant to initiate and maintain combustion. Yet further embodiments comprise the batch addition of a fuel additive to the aggregate prior to smoldering to ensure that the ensuing smoldering combustion is self-sustaining or of the required temperature to reduce or remove other contaminants in the matrix or organic liquid such as heavy metals or asbestos.

Abstract: One preferred embodiment of the invention is a shaft to transfer torque in a vehicle including a first member having internal splines and a second member having external splines engagable with the internal splines to allow telescopic movement between the first member and the second member and to transfer torque between the first member and the second member. The external spline has a coating to reduce friction during the telescopic movement. Another preferred embodiment of the invention is a suspension system for a vehicle including a biasing device and the above-described shaft.

Abstract: One preferred embodiment of the invention is a shaft to transfer torque in a vehicle including a first member having internal splines and a second member having external splines engagable with the internal splines to allow telescopic movement between the first member and the second member and to transfer torque between the first member and the second member. The external spline has a coating to reduce friction during the telescopic movement. Another preferred embodiment of the invention is a suspension system for a vehicle including a biasing device and the above-described shaft.