Nationality: Jordanian.Degree: PhD in Medical Physics.Institute: Universiti Sains Malaysia.Date of graduation: 2006.Licenses: Certificate from Saudi Commission for Health Specialist as senior specialist in radiology technology “Medical Physics”. Job: Prof. in Zarqa University. Supervisors: Saddig Jastaniah, Ahmad Shukri, Sabar Bauk, and Jamaan Alghamdi Phone: +966582958803 Address: P.O. Box 80324 Department of Diagnostic Radiology Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences King Abdulaziz University Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each mo... more Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each modality has helped to assess the community awareness and perception, which reflects our urgent need for more education for the public. This project aims to evaluate the knowledge levels of patients undergoing medical imaging procedures is regarding the risk and benefits by providing sufficient information regarding their specific medical imaging technique upon examination. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Subjects: Different departments of Radiology in different hospitals, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 3 months. Methodology: The survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to include four major hospitals. The sample of the study included 500 patients (125 for each hospital). Patients are aged 18 years and over were referred by physicians for a radiological examination, including different radiologic modalities. Resu...
One ofthe most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry and healt... more One ofthe most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry and health physics applications is mass–energy absorption. Direct measurements ofthe coef ficient ofmass–energy absorption, men=r; are difficult and typically recourse is taken to theoretical computations. In this study, we have determined men=r experimentally using a simple and direct method based on paraxial sphere transmission, using a proportional response gamma detector. The effects of nonparaxiality and of finite sample thickness have been accounted for, using extrapolation procedures. The deviation from nonproportionality and other corrections have been shown to be small. For 662 keV photons, the measured value of men=r for paraffin wax has been determined using the above method as (3.3770.05) � 10 � 3 m 2 /kg. This compares favourably with the theoretically computed value of 3.35 � 10 � 3 m 2 /kg given by Hubbell and Seltzer (1997). The measured value of men=r for gypsum has been determin...
BACKGROUND In developed countries, the economic feasibility of using ultrasound in ambulances bef... more BACKGROUND In developed countries, the economic feasibility of using ultrasound in ambulances before arriving at the hospital has been achieved through comprehensive studies, and this of course does not apply to Arab countries, as there are no current studies to support this. Therefore, this study is a preliminary measure of the economic feasibility of using ultrasound in ambulances in Saudi Arabia. AIM To measure the demand for ultrasound equipment in ambulances in Saudi Arabia. METHODS A cross-sectional study of five different groups of participants including radiation technologists, emergency physicians, paramedics, Red Crescent managers and the public. Email and social media were used to deliver a questionnaire to these groups. The questionnaire included specific questions to measure the purpose of ultrasound use in each group of participants. RESULTS Each group had some knowledge on ultrasound and its benefits. More than 50% in each study group supported the availability of ultrasound in ambulances. Additionally, 60% of emergency physicians reported that they had difficulties in venous access, checking the presence of internal bleeding, recognizing pregnancy in trauma cases, and inserting endotracheal tubes, and the majority of them confirmed the effective role of ultrasound in achieving such tasks. Almost all paramedics (93.33%), physicians (98.89%), and Saudi Red Crescent managers (96.3%) emphasized the importance of communication between ambulance staff and emergency departments. Moreover, most physicians (77.78%), and technologists (82.73%) supported the presence of paramedics in ambulances to operate ultrasound in order to improve patient outcomes. CONCLUSION Most of the study groups evaluated had knowledge on ultrasound and supported the presence of ultrasound devices in ambulances.
Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each mo... more Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each modality has helped to assess the community awareness and perception, which reflects our urgent need for more education for the public. This project aims to evaluate the knowledge levels of patients undergoing medical imaging procedures is regarding the risk and benefits by providing sufficient information regarding their specific medical imaging technique upon examination. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Subjects: Different departments of Radiology in different hospitals, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 3 months. Methodology: The survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to include four major hospitals. The sample of the study included 500 patients (125 for each hospital). Patients are aged 18 years and over were referred by physicians for a radiological examination, including different radiologic modalities. Results: It was found that 52% of patients were provided the information about radiology examination. The mean scores of questions ranged from 69% to 76%. So, there was a strong positive correlation between the radiology examination information received by patients and the radiation questions' score.
The aim of this study was to review the techniques that improve the images in detecting liver les... more The aim of this study was to review the techniques that improve the images in detecting liver lesions using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT). DECT has improved tissue characterization in recent years, which provides extra information such as tissue composition, compared to single-energy computed tomography (SECT). The use of low and high X-ray tube voltages in DECT provided fused images that improved the detection of liver tumors due to the higher contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the tumor compared to the liver. The utilization of the contrast agents in CT scanning improved the image quality by enhancing the CNR and signal– to–noise ratio (SNR) while reducing beam-hardening artefacts. CT imaging visualization and the ability of liver tumor detection can be enhanced using different contrast agents with suitable protocols such as iodine mapping. The use of morphine co-medication in potential donors possibly improved the visualization of the intrahepatic bile ducts after the sphincter of Oddi. Besides that, scanning protocols such as tube current (mAs), collimation, pitch and gantry rotation times were also very important when undergoing CT examination. This also increases the image quality and lesion visibility with lower doses. Furthermore, using the current modulation software such as CARE DOSE 4D, Siemens and SMART MA, GE provided by the manufacturers and low voltage techniques in detecting hyper vascular liver lesions, helped in reducing the dose administered to the patient. The dose in DECT is lower compared to CT perfusion and the conventional SECT, and maintains the image quality at the same time. DECT had shown an encouraging future in improving the characterization and detection of the liver lesions compared to the conventional SECT.
The diagnostic radiology has become a key pillar in the last four decades, especially with the pr... more The diagnostic radiology has become a key pillar in the last four decades, especially with the progress of technology and medical physics that accelerated the development of radiology stunningly and generally added new features in medicine. This project aims to use the resulting reports in the radiology department at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) to explore the musculoskeletal injuries and disorders caused by motor vehicle accidents for different age groups of youth (15 – 25 years old), adults (25 -40 years old) and old adults (>40 years old) as well as to study the relationship of those injuries and disorders with the bone mass index (BMI), where the musculoskeletal system is considered one of the most important support systems in the body. As a result of this study, the male participants (52%) were higher than in females (48%) for all different types of studied injuries. The youths were the dominant injured age group (42%) for all the participants followed by the old adults (32%) while the adult age group was the least (26%). It was found that there is a very high significant relationship (p<<0.05) for the degree of freedom (df = 6) between BMI and age groups. Youth males are considered as the dominant (30%) of all participants while the least was the older adults (8%) of the total participants. The injured knee in the older adults was the highest ratio (14%) while the lumbar spine injury was completely non-existent in the older adult age group. There was a highly significant relationship (p << 0.05, df = 8) between the injured regions and age groups. The lumbar spine had the dominant disorders and injuries (30%) compared to the other regions for various BMI categories and also for various age groups. As a conclusion, the authors recommend to establish an awareness campaign to sensitize the community to the disastrous effects that result from traffic accidents, such as all kinds of paralysis, fractures, and the common musculoskeletal injuries. Also, the introduction of awareness campaigns in schools, especially in middle and secondary schools to teach students etiquette and behaviors of traffic, whether pedestrian or drivers to instill in them the necessary concepts of traffic safety since childhood. The authors emphasize to use a seat belt as well as children and infant chairs when they get on the car, and the need to arrest the parents who put their children at risk and they do not implement these recommendations.
Aim: To detect the most common musculoskeletal disorders and to explore the common injury and ind... more Aim: To detect the most common musculoskeletal disorders and to explore the common injury and indication of different musculoskeletal systems, and then to obtain the causes of disorders by observing clinical indications via images. Methodology: The subjects in this project consisted of both genders—males and females and were investigated randomly by collecting data from the PACS unit that exists in the radiology department at KAUH. The participants had a mean age of 7.4 ± 0.3 years, a mean height of 118.2 ± 2.5 cm, a mean mass of 27.8 ± 1.5 kg, and a mean BMI of 19.6 ± 0.8 kg/m 2. The author settled the study plan by building a special, appropriate questionnaire to be handed out to the patients and covered mainly the prospective studies of randomly selected patients who came to the emergency unit and the outpatient units from other departments at KAUH in Jeddah. Results: The ratio of injuries in male children (77%) against females (23%) is 3:1, and this ratio is considered significant between age groups for males when compared with females. The injuries existed most in the age groups of 4 to 6 years old and 8 to 10 years old with approximately the same percentage of the total subjects as about 21% for each age group. Trauma injury was significant (81%) compared to other types of causes in all age groups. There was a significant relationship between the causes of injuries and the age groups in pediatrics (p < 0.05, df = 10) as well as the highest prevalence and significant relationship (p = 5.33 × 10 −6) between the BMI and all causes of injuries in all pediatric age groups. The most occurred injuries were in the upper limb regions (48.6%) and the other lower limb regions (34.3%) in all age groups. There was no significant relationship (p > 0.05) between the site of injuries and age groups. The significant site that resulted from trauma was the knee (100%), out of the total traumas' subject. There was a highly significant relationship between the site of injuries and its causes (p = 0.006, i.e. p < 0.05) that were expected. Conclusion: More awareness and understanding in the society are needed and we should concentrate on increasing the knowledge of such by providing them with more learning courses.
This study is an extended research done by the research team based on their recently published re... more This study is an extended research done by the research team based on their recently published research. The aim of this study is to verify a system software that was developed and verified using only one digital microscope with high specification as described in the previously published research, which automatically counts and characterizes ion tracks of irradiated CR-39 to alpha particles, by comparing the output images that were obtained from two different digital microscope models with different specifications. In this current research, two microscopes are used to capture the images of the detectors. The first one is a traditional light microscope with a digital camera connected to the eyepiece. The second microscope is a fully digital one with an LCD monitor with an area of 3.5 " which acts as a 10x eyepiece. Two image resolutions of 0.3 Megapixels from the first microscope and 2.0 Megapixels from the second one are used. The same magnification is used for both microscopes. The manual counting is then compared with the automatic counting in both output images from both different microscopes. The automatic system was compared to the manual counting method for verification; it was found that low illumination uniformity of the images from one of the microscopes reduced the number of counted tracks, whilst good distribution of illumination from the other microscope promoted counting (both manual and automatic). Thence, it can be concluded that the system is highly dependent on image clearness. Additionally, the system showed the ability to count the tracks on different resolutions.
Aims: To study the types of all possible injuries in different age groups and its prevalence in t... more Aims: To study the types of all possible injuries in different age groups and its prevalence in the Saudi society, especially in the city of Jeddah and its causes. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology (X-ray Unit), King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 6 months. Methodology: A questionnaire developed by the authors was used to collect data. The questionnaire had two parts. The first part was used to collect demographic data, and the second part was used to determine the type of injuries (trauma, motor vehicle accident, sudden and chronic). The subjects of the survey were chosen randomly from the radiology department at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH). Then, SPSS 15.0 for Windows was used for statistical analyses. Data are presented using descriptive statistics and were analyzed using the chi-squared test. Results: The participants (subjects) were male (56.5%) and female (43.5%) that had a mean age of 28.98±1.09 years, a mean height of 148.02±1.55 cm, and a mean mass of 58.71±1.63 kg. The older adults were the majority (32.2%) in this study followed by pediatric (30.6%) where the immune is lower than the other age groups' categories and is more affected by musculoskeletal injuries. The common injuries of the different musculoskeletal system were explored and obtained. That the highest percentage is related to trauma (58.9%) in all age groups, where the dominant percentage in trauma was in the pediatric age group (27.6%). Through our study, it was found that there is a high significant relationship (p < 0.05) with a degree of freedom is (df=12) between age groups and type of injuries for all genders. Conclusion: More education needs to be provided for our community in preventing and limiting personal injury especially in younger age groups.
We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment... more We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment of drinking water that were artificially enriched with Rn-222 in laboratory by placing a radium rich granite stone (pitchblende) in a closed container filled with tap water for several days in order to allow Rn-222 concentration to approach its highest possible level. Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) was immersed into the water container in order to adsorb Rn-222 in radon-rich water. The optimum activation procedure for GAC preparation was determined. Suitable contact time and optimum quantities of GAC needed to reduce Rn-222 concentration in water were experimentally determined. There is a much greater increase in Rn-222 removal from water in the ranges from 1 part: 1000 parts to 4 parts: 1000 parts GAC/water ratios. Further increase in GAC/water ratio slowly affects the Rn-222 removal.
Developing a Fast Affordable Automatic Counting System of CR-39 Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors, 2016
The CR-39 solid state passive nuclear track detector is a popular method to measure charged parti... more The CR-39 solid state passive nuclear track detector is a popular method to measure charged particle such as alpha and protons and uncharged particles such as neutrons, due to its low cost, robustness, track permanence, and insensitivity to gamma, X-ray, beta and electromagnetic waves. Traditional methods for processing CR-39 involve manual counting of the damage trails in the detector using an optical microscope: however, such methods are labor intensive and highly operator-dependent. The main aim of this research is to develop an affordable and fast automatic CR-39 track counting system. A set of CR-39 detectors with dimensions of 1.5 × 1.3 cm were exposed to 226Ra with an activity of 122 KBq for different periods of time. A full digital microscope with an LCD monitor of an area of 3.5” which acts as a 10x eyepiece was used to capture the images from the detectors. Three thresholds (size, Optical Density (OD) and circularity of the tracks) were applied to identify these tracks and facilitate in counting them. The automatic system was then compared to the manual counting method for verification. The P-value was higher than 0.05 (t-test: P-value for 2tails = 0.99) that showed an insignificant difference between the manual and automatic counting. The system showed a good ability to find and count elliptical tracks using a simple algorithm depending on their circularity values. This system was seen to analyze the tracks effectively, taking less than one minute per detector. The system is almost fully automatic, fast and affordable.
The electrocardiograph is an electronic instrument used to produce a written record of the electr... more The electrocardiograph is an electronic instrument used to produce a written record of the electrical activity of the heart. The electrical waveform produced by the heart is called an electrocardiogram or ECG (sometimes EKG after the German spelling). The various features of the ECG can be related to the pumping activity of the heart and is thus used in the diagnosis of the heart disease. The electrocardiograph system described in this module is a simplified one, but it will perform the same basic functions as a more sophisticated commercial instrument. It has been designed to demonstrate the underlying principles of electrocardiograph operation in terms of the functions of individual stages and their interrelationships in the system. Although the simplified version may not include special features found on more complex commercial instruments, an understanding of the operating principles of this model should help in properly using commercial instruments and in understanding its oper...
ABSTRACT One of the most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry... more ABSTRACT One of the most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry and health physics applications is mass–energy absorption. Direct measurements of the coefficient of mass–energy absorption, μen/ρ, are difficult and typically recourse is taken to theoretical computations. In this study, we have determined μen/ρ experimentally using a simple and direct method based on paraxial sphere transmission, using a proportional response gamma detector. The effects of nonparaxiality and of finite sample thickness have been accounted for, using extrapolation procedures. The deviation from nonproportionality and other corrections have been shown to be small.For 662 keV photons, the measured value of μen/ρ for paraffin wax has been determined using the above method as (3.37±0.05)×10−3 m2/kg. This compares favourably with the theoretically computed value of 3.35×10−3 m2/kg given by Hubbell and Seltzer (1997). The measured value of μen/ρ for gypsum has been determined as (2.96±0.01)×10−3 m2/kg, which also compares favourably with the theoretically computed value of 2.99×10−3 m2/kg given by Hubbell and Seltzer (1997).Comparison of measurements made using spherical shells and cylindrical shells has been provided with the intent of determining the equivalence of these two phantom shapes. In addition to the question of sensitivity of measurements to shell thickness, the investigation also examined the dependency of measured values on source-to-detector separation. Results obtained for the two shapes show close agreement with regard to the values of μen/ρ obtained using either shape.
Journal of Basic and Applied Research International
Since oxygen is the most important element for human to continue living, an effective low-cost de... more Since oxygen is the most important element for human to continue living, an effective low-cost device is needed to monitor oxygen levels in the human blood. Pulse Oximeter is a medical electronic instrument that measures oxygen saturation (SaO2) of arterial blood and pulse rate by non-invasive techniques. It is a medical device that allows for a rapid detection of hypoxemic events that could potentially be fatal. Lack of sufficient oxygen in blood tends to cause Hypoxemia which is an abnormally low concentration of oxygen in the blood. This project report covers the basic principles of pulse oximetry and focuses on the hardware implementation of pulse oximeter design. The concept of Pulse Oximetry was introduced followed by an overview of techniques commonly used for design of pulse Oximeter. Software simulation using Matlab/simulink software as well as circuit development toolkits were used to test the validity of pulse oximetry concepts. A hardware model was then developed using P...
British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 2015
The primary objective of this study is to investigate the treatment of Graves' Disease (GD) with ... more The primary objective of this study is to investigate the treatment of Graves' Disease (GD) with radioactive iodine ( 131 I-NaI), presenting the clinical symptoms suffered from patients, and evaluating the level of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) before and after the therapy procedure. Study Design: This project is considered as a retrospective project, non-randomized, observational clinical case series. Clinical symptoms produced by GD were stratified according to patients' gender and age, and a comparison between T3, T4 and TSH was done before and after the radioiodine therapy. Methodology: The records of patients with clinical diagnosis of Thyrotoxicosis who were registered in the nuclear medicine department during academic year 2012-2013 to perform thyroid scan retrospectively were analyzed. Data from 21 patients was collected before and after the administration of radioiodine therapeutic activity. Thyroid scintigraphy and thyroid functional tests (TFT) were conducted on all patients enrolled in the present study. Results: The most common clinical symptoms produced by GD were tachycardia, weight loss, excessive sweating and tremors. A total of 90% of the patients were under anti-thyroid drug medication before taking radioiodine therapy while 10% were not. TFT results showed that 95% of patients presented abnormal thyroid function. Aside from excessive sweating, no significant association between age and clinical symptoms was observed. A significant increase in TSH level and decrease in T3 and T4 was observed at three-months after therapy procedure. Within six months post-therapy, 60% of patients showed clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism, 30% presented TFT results compatible with normal thyroid function, and only 10% showed no response to treatment. Conclusion: Radioactive iodine is an excellent alternative for GD treatment compared to other therapeutic approaches, presenting less complication than surgery procedure and reverse possibility when patients are treated with anti-thyroid drug medication.
Many people lack awareness and good knowledge about radiation and its uses in medicine as it has ... more Many people lack awareness and good knowledge about radiation and its uses in medicine as it has been figured out that significant segments of the public society have a wrong idea and abnormal fear from unwarranted irradiation. For these reasons, a population in the Middle East was surveyed by means of a short questionnaire that was designed to assess the level of general knowledge of radiation and focus on the most important reasons behind their fear from dealing with radiation in order to improve their point of view about medical diagnostic and therapeutic radiology alike. The questionnaire is built upon the foundations and rules of scientific court as it was divided into two essential specialized classifications to describe different criteria, apart from other personal
ABSTRACT Compton (incoherently) scattered photons which are directly proportional to the electron... more ABSTRACT Compton (incoherently) scattered photons which are directly proportional to the electron density of the scatterer, have been employed in characterizing Rhizophora spp. as breast tissue equivalent. X-ray fluorescent scattered incoherently from Rhizophora spp. sample was measured using Si-PIN detector and three XRF energy values 15.77, 17.48 and 22.16 keV. This study is aimed at providing electron density information in support of the introduction of new tissue substitute materials for mammography phantoms.
American Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 2013
The Rhizophora spp. wood what is hard and heavy is considered strong in strength and is suitable ... more The Rhizophora spp. wood what is hard and heavy is considered strong in strength and is suitable for structural purposes. Generally, Rhizophora spp. was used in radiation dosimetry research and it is being used in this project too. There are some disadvantages in using the raw (natural) material of Rhizophora spp. in radiation dosimetry research and there is a need to modify this natural wood to be easily used as a phantom in radiation dosimetry. The mass attenuation coefficients (/) of fabricated Rhizophora spp. particleboard were determined for photons in the energy range of 15.77-25.27 keV. This was carried out by studying the attenuation of X-ray fluorescent photons from zirconium, molybdenum, palladium, silver, indium and tin targets. The results were compared with theoretical values for average breast tissues in youngage, middle-age and old-age groups calculated using photon cross section database (XCOM), the well-known code for calculating attenuation coefficients and interaction cross-sections. The measured mass attenuation coefficients were found to be very close to the calculated XCOM values in breasts of old-age group.
American Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 2013
We explore new methods for medical education using digital signal processing to simulate heart be... more We explore new methods for medical education using digital signal processing to simulate heart beats and compare normal and abnormal heart pulses. In this work the healthy heart is replaced by a fixed heart-like pulse generator as an AD/DA converter. A visual basic code with friendly interface is written for this purpose. Additionally, abnormal heart beat corresponding to different heart disease were simulated using a waveform generator that allowed production of variable signals we stored in its library. Both of the normal and abnormal heart pulses were displayed using PC oscilloscope. Medical students are allowed to select the heart beats from a drop menu for diseases and compare the characteristics e.g. time intervals, pulse amplitudes and pulse shape deformation with the already displayed healthy heart beats. We believe our teaching methodology enhances the way knowledge are introduced to students in order to meet their educational preferences.
We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment... more We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment of drinking water that were artificially enriched with Rn-222 in laboratory by placing a radium rich granite stone (pitchblende) in a closed container filled with tap water for several days in order to allow Rn-222 concentration to approach its highest possible level. Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) was immersed into the water container in order to adsorb Rn-222 in radon-rich water. The optimum activation procedure for GAC preparation was determined. Suitable contact time and optimum quantities of GAC needed to reduce Rn-222 concentration in water were experimentally determined. There is a much greater increase in Rn-222 removal from water in the ranges from 1 part: 1000 parts to 4 parts: 1000 parts GAC/water ratios. Further increase in GAC/water ratio slowly affects the Rn-222 removal.
Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each mo... more Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each modality has helped to assess the community awareness and perception, which reflects our urgent need for more education for the public. This project aims to evaluate the knowledge levels of patients undergoing medical imaging procedures is regarding the risk and benefits by providing sufficient information regarding their specific medical imaging technique upon examination. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Subjects: Different departments of Radiology in different hospitals, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 3 months. Methodology: The survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to include four major hospitals. The sample of the study included 500 patients (125 for each hospital). Patients are aged 18 years and over were referred by physicians for a radiological examination, including different radiologic modalities. Resu...
One ofthe most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry and healt... more One ofthe most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry and health physics applications is mass–energy absorption. Direct measurements ofthe coef ficient ofmass–energy absorption, men=r; are difficult and typically recourse is taken to theoretical computations. In this study, we have determined men=r experimentally using a simple and direct method based on paraxial sphere transmission, using a proportional response gamma detector. The effects of nonparaxiality and of finite sample thickness have been accounted for, using extrapolation procedures. The deviation from nonproportionality and other corrections have been shown to be small. For 662 keV photons, the measured value of men=r for paraffin wax has been determined using the above method as (3.3770.05) � 10 � 3 m 2 /kg. This compares favourably with the theoretically computed value of 3.35 � 10 � 3 m 2 /kg given by Hubbell and Seltzer (1997). The measured value of men=r for gypsum has been determin...
BACKGROUND In developed countries, the economic feasibility of using ultrasound in ambulances bef... more BACKGROUND In developed countries, the economic feasibility of using ultrasound in ambulances before arriving at the hospital has been achieved through comprehensive studies, and this of course does not apply to Arab countries, as there are no current studies to support this. Therefore, this study is a preliminary measure of the economic feasibility of using ultrasound in ambulances in Saudi Arabia. AIM To measure the demand for ultrasound equipment in ambulances in Saudi Arabia. METHODS A cross-sectional study of five different groups of participants including radiation technologists, emergency physicians, paramedics, Red Crescent managers and the public. Email and social media were used to deliver a questionnaire to these groups. The questionnaire included specific questions to measure the purpose of ultrasound use in each group of participants. RESULTS Each group had some knowledge on ultrasound and its benefits. More than 50% in each study group supported the availability of ultrasound in ambulances. Additionally, 60% of emergency physicians reported that they had difficulties in venous access, checking the presence of internal bleeding, recognizing pregnancy in trauma cases, and inserting endotracheal tubes, and the majority of them confirmed the effective role of ultrasound in achieving such tasks. Almost all paramedics (93.33%), physicians (98.89%), and Saudi Red Crescent managers (96.3%) emphasized the importance of communication between ambulance staff and emergency departments. Moreover, most physicians (77.78%), and technologists (82.73%) supported the presence of paramedics in ambulances to operate ultrasound in order to improve patient outcomes. CONCLUSION Most of the study groups evaluated had knowledge on ultrasound and supported the presence of ultrasound devices in ambulances.
Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each mo... more Aims: Understanding the knowledge gaps among the public regarding radiation protection of each modality has helped to assess the community awareness and perception, which reflects our urgent need for more education for the public. This project aims to evaluate the knowledge levels of patients undergoing medical imaging procedures is regarding the risk and benefits by providing sufficient information regarding their specific medical imaging technique upon examination. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Subjects: Different departments of Radiology in different hospitals, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 3 months. Methodology: The survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to include four major hospitals. The sample of the study included 500 patients (125 for each hospital). Patients are aged 18 years and over were referred by physicians for a radiological examination, including different radiologic modalities. Results: It was found that 52% of patients were provided the information about radiology examination. The mean scores of questions ranged from 69% to 76%. So, there was a strong positive correlation between the radiology examination information received by patients and the radiation questions' score.
The aim of this study was to review the techniques that improve the images in detecting liver les... more The aim of this study was to review the techniques that improve the images in detecting liver lesions using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT). DECT has improved tissue characterization in recent years, which provides extra information such as tissue composition, compared to single-energy computed tomography (SECT). The use of low and high X-ray tube voltages in DECT provided fused images that improved the detection of liver tumors due to the higher contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the tumor compared to the liver. The utilization of the contrast agents in CT scanning improved the image quality by enhancing the CNR and signal– to–noise ratio (SNR) while reducing beam-hardening artefacts. CT imaging visualization and the ability of liver tumor detection can be enhanced using different contrast agents with suitable protocols such as iodine mapping. The use of morphine co-medication in potential donors possibly improved the visualization of the intrahepatic bile ducts after the sphincter of Oddi. Besides that, scanning protocols such as tube current (mAs), collimation, pitch and gantry rotation times were also very important when undergoing CT examination. This also increases the image quality and lesion visibility with lower doses. Furthermore, using the current modulation software such as CARE DOSE 4D, Siemens and SMART MA, GE provided by the manufacturers and low voltage techniques in detecting hyper vascular liver lesions, helped in reducing the dose administered to the patient. The dose in DECT is lower compared to CT perfusion and the conventional SECT, and maintains the image quality at the same time. DECT had shown an encouraging future in improving the characterization and detection of the liver lesions compared to the conventional SECT.
The diagnostic radiology has become a key pillar in the last four decades, especially with the pr... more The diagnostic radiology has become a key pillar in the last four decades, especially with the progress of technology and medical physics that accelerated the development of radiology stunningly and generally added new features in medicine. This project aims to use the resulting reports in the radiology department at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) to explore the musculoskeletal injuries and disorders caused by motor vehicle accidents for different age groups of youth (15 – 25 years old), adults (25 -40 years old) and old adults (>40 years old) as well as to study the relationship of those injuries and disorders with the bone mass index (BMI), where the musculoskeletal system is considered one of the most important support systems in the body. As a result of this study, the male participants (52%) were higher than in females (48%) for all different types of studied injuries. The youths were the dominant injured age group (42%) for all the participants followed by the old adults (32%) while the adult age group was the least (26%). It was found that there is a very high significant relationship (p<<0.05) for the degree of freedom (df = 6) between BMI and age groups. Youth males are considered as the dominant (30%) of all participants while the least was the older adults (8%) of the total participants. The injured knee in the older adults was the highest ratio (14%) while the lumbar spine injury was completely non-existent in the older adult age group. There was a highly significant relationship (p << 0.05, df = 8) between the injured regions and age groups. The lumbar spine had the dominant disorders and injuries (30%) compared to the other regions for various BMI categories and also for various age groups. As a conclusion, the authors recommend to establish an awareness campaign to sensitize the community to the disastrous effects that result from traffic accidents, such as all kinds of paralysis, fractures, and the common musculoskeletal injuries. Also, the introduction of awareness campaigns in schools, especially in middle and secondary schools to teach students etiquette and behaviors of traffic, whether pedestrian or drivers to instill in them the necessary concepts of traffic safety since childhood. The authors emphasize to use a seat belt as well as children and infant chairs when they get on the car, and the need to arrest the parents who put their children at risk and they do not implement these recommendations.
Aim: To detect the most common musculoskeletal disorders and to explore the common injury and ind... more Aim: To detect the most common musculoskeletal disorders and to explore the common injury and indication of different musculoskeletal systems, and then to obtain the causes of disorders by observing clinical indications via images. Methodology: The subjects in this project consisted of both genders—males and females and were investigated randomly by collecting data from the PACS unit that exists in the radiology department at KAUH. The participants had a mean age of 7.4 ± 0.3 years, a mean height of 118.2 ± 2.5 cm, a mean mass of 27.8 ± 1.5 kg, and a mean BMI of 19.6 ± 0.8 kg/m 2. The author settled the study plan by building a special, appropriate questionnaire to be handed out to the patients and covered mainly the prospective studies of randomly selected patients who came to the emergency unit and the outpatient units from other departments at KAUH in Jeddah. Results: The ratio of injuries in male children (77%) against females (23%) is 3:1, and this ratio is considered significant between age groups for males when compared with females. The injuries existed most in the age groups of 4 to 6 years old and 8 to 10 years old with approximately the same percentage of the total subjects as about 21% for each age group. Trauma injury was significant (81%) compared to other types of causes in all age groups. There was a significant relationship between the causes of injuries and the age groups in pediatrics (p < 0.05, df = 10) as well as the highest prevalence and significant relationship (p = 5.33 × 10 −6) between the BMI and all causes of injuries in all pediatric age groups. The most occurred injuries were in the upper limb regions (48.6%) and the other lower limb regions (34.3%) in all age groups. There was no significant relationship (p > 0.05) between the site of injuries and age groups. The significant site that resulted from trauma was the knee (100%), out of the total traumas' subject. There was a highly significant relationship between the site of injuries and its causes (p = 0.006, i.e. p < 0.05) that were expected. Conclusion: More awareness and understanding in the society are needed and we should concentrate on increasing the knowledge of such by providing them with more learning courses.
This study is an extended research done by the research team based on their recently published re... more This study is an extended research done by the research team based on their recently published research. The aim of this study is to verify a system software that was developed and verified using only one digital microscope with high specification as described in the previously published research, which automatically counts and characterizes ion tracks of irradiated CR-39 to alpha particles, by comparing the output images that were obtained from two different digital microscope models with different specifications. In this current research, two microscopes are used to capture the images of the detectors. The first one is a traditional light microscope with a digital camera connected to the eyepiece. The second microscope is a fully digital one with an LCD monitor with an area of 3.5 " which acts as a 10x eyepiece. Two image resolutions of 0.3 Megapixels from the first microscope and 2.0 Megapixels from the second one are used. The same magnification is used for both microscopes. The manual counting is then compared with the automatic counting in both output images from both different microscopes. The automatic system was compared to the manual counting method for verification; it was found that low illumination uniformity of the images from one of the microscopes reduced the number of counted tracks, whilst good distribution of illumination from the other microscope promoted counting (both manual and automatic). Thence, it can be concluded that the system is highly dependent on image clearness. Additionally, the system showed the ability to count the tracks on different resolutions.
Aims: To study the types of all possible injuries in different age groups and its prevalence in t... more Aims: To study the types of all possible injuries in different age groups and its prevalence in the Saudi society, especially in the city of Jeddah and its causes. Study Design: A prospective study with a special questionnaire to collect data. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology (X-ray Unit), King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for 6 months. Methodology: A questionnaire developed by the authors was used to collect data. The questionnaire had two parts. The first part was used to collect demographic data, and the second part was used to determine the type of injuries (trauma, motor vehicle accident, sudden and chronic). The subjects of the survey were chosen randomly from the radiology department at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH). Then, SPSS 15.0 for Windows was used for statistical analyses. Data are presented using descriptive statistics and were analyzed using the chi-squared test. Results: The participants (subjects) were male (56.5%) and female (43.5%) that had a mean age of 28.98±1.09 years, a mean height of 148.02±1.55 cm, and a mean mass of 58.71±1.63 kg. The older adults were the majority (32.2%) in this study followed by pediatric (30.6%) where the immune is lower than the other age groups' categories and is more affected by musculoskeletal injuries. The common injuries of the different musculoskeletal system were explored and obtained. That the highest percentage is related to trauma (58.9%) in all age groups, where the dominant percentage in trauma was in the pediatric age group (27.6%). Through our study, it was found that there is a high significant relationship (p < 0.05) with a degree of freedom is (df=12) between age groups and type of injuries for all genders. Conclusion: More education needs to be provided for our community in preventing and limiting personal injury especially in younger age groups.
We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment... more We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment of drinking water that were artificially enriched with Rn-222 in laboratory by placing a radium rich granite stone (pitchblende) in a closed container filled with tap water for several days in order to allow Rn-222 concentration to approach its highest possible level. Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) was immersed into the water container in order to adsorb Rn-222 in radon-rich water. The optimum activation procedure for GAC preparation was determined. Suitable contact time and optimum quantities of GAC needed to reduce Rn-222 concentration in water were experimentally determined. There is a much greater increase in Rn-222 removal from water in the ranges from 1 part: 1000 parts to 4 parts: 1000 parts GAC/water ratios. Further increase in GAC/water ratio slowly affects the Rn-222 removal.
Developing a Fast Affordable Automatic Counting System of CR-39 Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors, 2016
The CR-39 solid state passive nuclear track detector is a popular method to measure charged parti... more The CR-39 solid state passive nuclear track detector is a popular method to measure charged particle such as alpha and protons and uncharged particles such as neutrons, due to its low cost, robustness, track permanence, and insensitivity to gamma, X-ray, beta and electromagnetic waves. Traditional methods for processing CR-39 involve manual counting of the damage trails in the detector using an optical microscope: however, such methods are labor intensive and highly operator-dependent. The main aim of this research is to develop an affordable and fast automatic CR-39 track counting system. A set of CR-39 detectors with dimensions of 1.5 × 1.3 cm were exposed to 226Ra with an activity of 122 KBq for different periods of time. A full digital microscope with an LCD monitor of an area of 3.5” which acts as a 10x eyepiece was used to capture the images from the detectors. Three thresholds (size, Optical Density (OD) and circularity of the tracks) were applied to identify these tracks and facilitate in counting them. The automatic system was then compared to the manual counting method for verification. The P-value was higher than 0.05 (t-test: P-value for 2tails = 0.99) that showed an insignificant difference between the manual and automatic counting. The system showed a good ability to find and count elliptical tracks using a simple algorithm depending on their circularity values. This system was seen to analyze the tracks effectively, taking less than one minute per detector. The system is almost fully automatic, fast and affordable.
The electrocardiograph is an electronic instrument used to produce a written record of the electr... more The electrocardiograph is an electronic instrument used to produce a written record of the electrical activity of the heart. The electrical waveform produced by the heart is called an electrocardiogram or ECG (sometimes EKG after the German spelling). The various features of the ECG can be related to the pumping activity of the heart and is thus used in the diagnosis of the heart disease. The electrocardiograph system described in this module is a simplified one, but it will perform the same basic functions as a more sophisticated commercial instrument. It has been designed to demonstrate the underlying principles of electrocardiograph operation in terms of the functions of individual stages and their interrelationships in the system. Although the simplified version may not include special features found on more complex commercial instruments, an understanding of the operating principles of this model should help in properly using commercial instruments and in understanding its oper...
ABSTRACT One of the most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry... more ABSTRACT One of the most important gamma radiation quantities with respect to radiation dosimetry and health physics applications is mass–energy absorption. Direct measurements of the coefficient of mass–energy absorption, μen/ρ, are difficult and typically recourse is taken to theoretical computations. In this study, we have determined μen/ρ experimentally using a simple and direct method based on paraxial sphere transmission, using a proportional response gamma detector. The effects of nonparaxiality and of finite sample thickness have been accounted for, using extrapolation procedures. The deviation from nonproportionality and other corrections have been shown to be small.For 662 keV photons, the measured value of μen/ρ for paraffin wax has been determined using the above method as (3.37±0.05)×10−3 m2/kg. This compares favourably with the theoretically computed value of 3.35×10−3 m2/kg given by Hubbell and Seltzer (1997). The measured value of μen/ρ for gypsum has been determined as (2.96±0.01)×10−3 m2/kg, which also compares favourably with the theoretically computed value of 2.99×10−3 m2/kg given by Hubbell and Seltzer (1997).Comparison of measurements made using spherical shells and cylindrical shells has been provided with the intent of determining the equivalence of these two phantom shapes. In addition to the question of sensitivity of measurements to shell thickness, the investigation also examined the dependency of measured values on source-to-detector separation. Results obtained for the two shapes show close agreement with regard to the values of μen/ρ obtained using either shape.
Journal of Basic and Applied Research International
Since oxygen is the most important element for human to continue living, an effective low-cost de... more Since oxygen is the most important element for human to continue living, an effective low-cost device is needed to monitor oxygen levels in the human blood. Pulse Oximeter is a medical electronic instrument that measures oxygen saturation (SaO2) of arterial blood and pulse rate by non-invasive techniques. It is a medical device that allows for a rapid detection of hypoxemic events that could potentially be fatal. Lack of sufficient oxygen in blood tends to cause Hypoxemia which is an abnormally low concentration of oxygen in the blood. This project report covers the basic principles of pulse oximetry and focuses on the hardware implementation of pulse oximeter design. The concept of Pulse Oximetry was introduced followed by an overview of techniques commonly used for design of pulse Oximeter. Software simulation using Matlab/simulink software as well as circuit development toolkits were used to test the validity of pulse oximetry concepts. A hardware model was then developed using P...
British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 2015
The primary objective of this study is to investigate the treatment of Graves' Disease (GD) with ... more The primary objective of this study is to investigate the treatment of Graves' Disease (GD) with radioactive iodine ( 131 I-NaI), presenting the clinical symptoms suffered from patients, and evaluating the level of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) before and after the therapy procedure. Study Design: This project is considered as a retrospective project, non-randomized, observational clinical case series. Clinical symptoms produced by GD were stratified according to patients' gender and age, and a comparison between T3, T4 and TSH was done before and after the radioiodine therapy. Methodology: The records of patients with clinical diagnosis of Thyrotoxicosis who were registered in the nuclear medicine department during academic year 2012-2013 to perform thyroid scan retrospectively were analyzed. Data from 21 patients was collected before and after the administration of radioiodine therapeutic activity. Thyroid scintigraphy and thyroid functional tests (TFT) were conducted on all patients enrolled in the present study. Results: The most common clinical symptoms produced by GD were tachycardia, weight loss, excessive sweating and tremors. A total of 90% of the patients were under anti-thyroid drug medication before taking radioiodine therapy while 10% were not. TFT results showed that 95% of patients presented abnormal thyroid function. Aside from excessive sweating, no significant association between age and clinical symptoms was observed. A significant increase in TSH level and decrease in T3 and T4 was observed at three-months after therapy procedure. Within six months post-therapy, 60% of patients showed clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism, 30% presented TFT results compatible with normal thyroid function, and only 10% showed no response to treatment. Conclusion: Radioactive iodine is an excellent alternative for GD treatment compared to other therapeutic approaches, presenting less complication than surgery procedure and reverse possibility when patients are treated with anti-thyroid drug medication.
Many people lack awareness and good knowledge about radiation and its uses in medicine as it has ... more Many people lack awareness and good knowledge about radiation and its uses in medicine as it has been figured out that significant segments of the public society have a wrong idea and abnormal fear from unwarranted irradiation. For these reasons, a population in the Middle East was surveyed by means of a short questionnaire that was designed to assess the level of general knowledge of radiation and focus on the most important reasons behind their fear from dealing with radiation in order to improve their point of view about medical diagnostic and therapeutic radiology alike. The questionnaire is built upon the foundations and rules of scientific court as it was divided into two essential specialized classifications to describe different criteria, apart from other personal
ABSTRACT Compton (incoherently) scattered photons which are directly proportional to the electron... more ABSTRACT Compton (incoherently) scattered photons which are directly proportional to the electron density of the scatterer, have been employed in characterizing Rhizophora spp. as breast tissue equivalent. X-ray fluorescent scattered incoherently from Rhizophora spp. sample was measured using Si-PIN detector and three XRF energy values 15.77, 17.48 and 22.16 keV. This study is aimed at providing electron density information in support of the introduction of new tissue substitute materials for mammography phantoms.
American Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 2013
The Rhizophora spp. wood what is hard and heavy is considered strong in strength and is suitable ... more The Rhizophora spp. wood what is hard and heavy is considered strong in strength and is suitable for structural purposes. Generally, Rhizophora spp. was used in radiation dosimetry research and it is being used in this project too. There are some disadvantages in using the raw (natural) material of Rhizophora spp. in radiation dosimetry research and there is a need to modify this natural wood to be easily used as a phantom in radiation dosimetry. The mass attenuation coefficients (/) of fabricated Rhizophora spp. particleboard were determined for photons in the energy range of 15.77-25.27 keV. This was carried out by studying the attenuation of X-ray fluorescent photons from zirconium, molybdenum, palladium, silver, indium and tin targets. The results were compared with theoretical values for average breast tissues in youngage, middle-age and old-age groups calculated using photon cross section database (XCOM), the well-known code for calculating attenuation coefficients and interaction cross-sections. The measured mass attenuation coefficients were found to be very close to the calculated XCOM values in breasts of old-age group.
American Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 2013
We explore new methods for medical education using digital signal processing to simulate heart be... more We explore new methods for medical education using digital signal processing to simulate heart beats and compare normal and abnormal heart pulses. In this work the healthy heart is replaced by a fixed heart-like pulse generator as an AD/DA converter. A visual basic code with friendly interface is written for this purpose. Additionally, abnormal heart beat corresponding to different heart disease were simulated using a waveform generator that allowed production of variable signals we stored in its library. Both of the normal and abnormal heart pulses were displayed using PC oscilloscope. Medical students are allowed to select the heart beats from a drop menu for diseases and compare the characteristics e.g. time intervals, pulse amplitudes and pulse shape deformation with the already displayed healthy heart beats. We believe our teaching methodology enhances the way knowledge are introduced to students in order to meet their educational preferences.
We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment... more We explore the use of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) as a mitigation technique for the treatment of drinking water that were artificially enriched with Rn-222 in laboratory by placing a radium rich granite stone (pitchblende) in a closed container filled with tap water for several days in order to allow Rn-222 concentration to approach its highest possible level. Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) was immersed into the water container in order to adsorb Rn-222 in radon-rich water. The optimum activation procedure for GAC preparation was determined. Suitable contact time and optimum quantities of GAC needed to reduce Rn-222 concentration in water were experimentally determined. There is a much greater increase in Rn-222 removal from water in the ranges from 1 part: 1000 parts to 4 parts: 1000 parts GAC/water ratios. Further increase in GAC/water ratio slowly affects the Rn-222 removal.
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Papers by B. Z. Shakhreet
Three thresholds (size, Optical Density (OD) and circularity of the tracks) were applied to identify these tracks and facilitate in counting them. The automatic system was then compared to the manual counting method for verification. The P-value was higher than 0.05 (t-test: P-value for 2tails = 0.99) that showed an insignificant difference between the manual and automatic counting. The system showed a good ability to find and count elliptical tracks using a simple algorithm depending on their circularity values. This system was seen to analyze the tracks effectively, taking less than one minute per detector. The system is almost fully automatic, fast and affordable.
Three thresholds (size, Optical Density (OD) and circularity of the tracks) were applied to identify these tracks and facilitate in counting them. The automatic system was then compared to the manual counting method for verification. The P-value was higher than 0.05 (t-test: P-value for 2tails = 0.99) that showed an insignificant difference between the manual and automatic counting. The system showed a good ability to find and count elliptical tracks using a simple algorithm depending on their circularity values. This system was seen to analyze the tracks effectively, taking less than one minute per detector. The system is almost fully automatic, fast and affordable.