End2end-ALARA: Approaching the ALARA Law in CT Imaging with End-to-end Learning

Computed tomography (CT) examination poses radiation injury to patient. A consensus performing CT imaging is to make the radiation dose as low as reasonably achievable, i.e. the ALARA law. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end learning framework, named End2end-ALARA, that jointly optimizes dose modulation and image reconstruction to meet the goal of ALARA in CT imaging. End2end-ALARA works by building a dose modulation module and an image reconstruction module, connecting these modules with a differentiable simulation function, and optimizing the them with a constrained hinge loss function. The objective is to minimize radiation dose subject to a prescribed image quality (IQ) index. The results show that End2end-ALARA is able to preset personalized dose levels to gain a stable IQ level across patients, which may facilitate image-based diagnosis and downstream model training. Moreover, compared to fixed-dose and conventional dose modulation strategies, End2end-ALARA consumes lower dose to reach the same IQ level. Our study sheds light on a way of realizing the ALARA law in CT imaging.

A Polarization and Radiomics Feature Fusion Network for the Classification of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Classifying hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a critical step in treatment selection and prognosis evaluation for patients with liver diseases. Traditional histopathological diagnosis poses challenges in this context. In this study, we introduce a novel polarization and radiomics feature fusion network, which combines polarization features obtained from Mueller matrix images of liver pathological samples with radiomics features derived from corresponding pathological images to classify HCC and ICC. Our fusion network integrates a two-tier fusion approach, comprising early feature-level fusion and late classification-level fusion. By harnessing the strengths of polarization imaging techniques and image feature-based machine learning, our proposed fusion network significantly enhances classification accuracy. Notably, even at reduced imaging resolutions, the fusion network maintains robust performance due to the additional information provided by polarization features, which may not align with human visual perception. Our experimental results underscore the potential of this fusion network as a powerful tool for computer-aided diagnosis of HCC and ICC, showcasing the benefits and prospects of integrating polarization imaging techniques into the current image-intensive digital pathological diagnosis. We aim to contribute this innovative approach to top-tier journals, offering fresh insights and valuable tools in the fields of medical imaging and cancer diagnosis. By introducing polarization imaging into liver cancer classification, we demonstrate its interdisciplinary potential in addressing challenges in medical image analysis, promising advancements in medical imaging and cancer diagnosis.