ENHANCED BREAST TOMOSYNTHESIS RECONSTRUCTION USING DISTANCE-DRIVEN MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD EXPECTATION MAXIMIZATION TECHNIQUE Nuhad A. Malalla, Ali A. Al-azza, Suhad A. Malalla, Suroor M. Dawood, Zaineb M. Alhakeem Kufa Journal of Engineering, 2026 Early detection of breast cancer significantly improves patient outcomes through timely and accurate diagnosis. This study proposes a hybrid image reconstruction method combining the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization (MLEM) algorithm with the Distance Driven Method (DDM) for stationary digital breast tomosynthesis, aimed at producing high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) breast images. The method was initially validated using simulated projection data of a digital breast phantom modeled with two spheres of varying radii and attenuation coefficients. Fifteen projection images were generated over a 15° angular range (from +7° to –7° with 1° increments) to replicate realistic tomosynthesis acquisition. The focus plane was set 45 mm above the detector with a pixel size of 0.14 mm. Reconstruction results demonstrated enhanced image quality, with spatial resolution quantitatively evaluated using the Line Spread Function (LSF) across the smaller sphere. Compared to the Ray Driven Method (RDM), the MLEM-DDM approach provided better contrast, sharper edges, and fewer artifacts. Subsequently, the method was applied to experimental data from a real breast phantom. Volumetric reconstructions revealed detailed tissue structures across multiple planes, with spatial resolution assessed by line profiling through two aligned calcifications in the focus plane. The MLEM-DDM method preserved the shape and sharpness of these calcifications more effectively than MLEM-RDM. Overall, the proposed MLEM-DDM framework enhances spatial resolution and visualization quality in stationary digital breast tomosynthesis, demonstrating strong potential for improved early breast cancer detection and diagnostic accuracy
EMERGING INTERNET-OF-THINGS APPROACH IN MONITORING AND AUTOMATION OF INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT Haider Al-Kanan, Ali A. Al-Azza Kufa Journal of Engineering, 2025 The online monitoring of work environment plays significant role in contemporary industry automation by utilizing internet-of-things (IoT) for different measures, including security, operation efficiency, and proactive response. This article proposes an IoT technique to monitor the environment air temperature, humidity, and the required safety concerns such as fire alert and security access control using video recording. The system hardware consists of DHT22 sensor, smoke detector, and motion sensor which are all integrated using ESP8266 microcontroller and wireless router as access point to internet. The proposed IoT approach is developed using variable scheduler scenario for adjusting the temperature and humidity level of the environment based on particular season of the year. A GUI dashboard is implemented based on Blynk application to display the real-time sensors’ readings and changing the operation status of some IoT devices. The operation and functionality of this IoT application is validated and tested inside a dedicated laboratory to mimic different environment conditions. While maintaining convenience air temperature, the proposed approach achieves 8%-14% improvement in power efficiency of the air-conditioning unit
Facial Modelling and Animation: An Overview of The State-of-The Art Samia Shakir, Ali Al-Azza Iraqi Journal for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2022 Animating human face presents interesting challenges because of its familiarity as the face is the part utilized to recognize individuals. This paper reviewed the approaches used in facial modeling and animation and described their strengths and weaknesses. Realistic face animation of computer graphic models of human faces can be hard to achieve as a result of the many details that should be approximated in producing realistic facial expressions. Many methods have been researched to create more and more accurate animations that can efficiently represent human faces. We described the techniques that have been utilized to produce realistic facial animation. In this survey, we roughly categorized the facial modeling and animation approach into the following classes: blendshape or shape interpolation, parameterizations, facial action coding system-based approaches, moving pictures experts group-4 facial animation, physics-based muscle modeling, performance driven facial animation, visual speech animation.
Three-stacked dielectric ring resonator loaded hybrid monopole antenna for improved ultrawide bandwidth Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal, 2020
Low profile tri-bands antenna for wireless applications Ali A. Al-Azza, Nuhad A. Malalla, Mohamed M. Morsy, Frances J. Harackiewicz 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and Usnc Ursi Radio Science Meeting Apsursi 2019 Proceedings, 2019 A low-profile compact antenna with triple band operation for wireless security, WIMAX, and WLAN applications is proposed in this paper. The antenna has a simple structure with an overall area of 40 x 40 mm2. Analysis and simulation of the proposed antenna is done by using the full 3D electromagnetic simulation software CST STUDIO SUITE. The performance of the proposed antenna was evaluated by using the reflection coefficient, the radiation pattern, and the gain.
Stacked conical-cylindrical hybrid dielectric resonator antenna for improved ultrawide bandwidth Ali A. Al-Azza, Nuhad Malalla, Frances J. Harackiewicz, Kiyun Han Progress in Electromagnetics Research Letters, 2018 Conical and cylindrical dielectric resonator elements are vertically stacked and excited by a simple coaxial monopole. Compared to all earlier configurations, the proposed geometry significantly improves the impedance bandwidth. The ultrawideband response is enhanced due to the multiple resonances occurring by the suggested hybrid antenna. The footprint area of the antenna is only 63.6 mm2 or 25.44×10−3λ2o at the lowest operating frequency. The performance of the antenna is verified experimentally and numerically. Presented results show that the proposed hybrid monopole-DRA has a measured impedance bandwidth up to 148.6% (S11 < −10 dB) along with consistent monopole-like radiation patterns and peak gain of 7.14 dBi. With such properties, the proposed hybrid monopoleDRA can be used in different ultra-wideband wireless applications and as wideband electromagnetic interference (EMI) sensors.
Optimization of Stepped Patch Antenna for Ultra-Wideband Applications Ali A. Al-Azza, Nuhad A. Malalla, Mohamed M. Morsy, Hemachandra R. Gorla, Frances J. Harackiewicz 2018 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium and Usnc Ursi National Radio Science Meeting Apsursi 2018 Proceedings, 2018 An ultra-wideband antenna is proposed in this paper. The proposed antenna has been optimized by using the covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy optimization method to achieve the impedance bandwidth requirement of the ultra-wideband systems. The antenna has a compact size of 40 × 40 mm2. 3D electromagnetic simulation software, CST STUDIO SUITE is used to simulate the proposed antenna. The measured results show that the antenna provides a wide bandwidth of 118.5% (3.07 −12 GHz).
Optimization of dielectric loaded antenna for 5.8 GHz wireless applications with interference cancellation capability Ali Abdulhadi Noaman Al-Azza, Frances J. Harackiewicz IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium Rws, 2016 A dielectric loaded antenna is proposed in this paper for wireless communication applications. The proposed antenna has been optimized by using the covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy (CMA-ES) optimization method to achieve the impedance bandwidth requirement of the upper band of wireless local area network (WLAN) band systems, and to introduce nulls in the radiation pattern at the undesired directions for interference cancellation purposes. The antenna has a compact size of 40 × 40 mm2. 3D electromagnetic simulation software, CST STUDIO SUITE is used to simulate the proposed antenna. To validate the performance of the proposed antenna, the antenna is fabricated and tested. A good agreement between simulation and measurement is obtained.
Spider monkey optimization (SMO): A novel optimization technique in electromagnetics Ali A. Al-Azza, Ammar A. Al-Jodah, Frances J. Harackiewicz IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium Rws, 2016 Introducing and using the spider monkey optimization (SMO) as an optimization technique for the electromagnetics and antenna community is the main goal of this paper. The SMO is a new swarm intelligence technique which models the foraging behavior of spider monkeys. To show the efficiency of the SMO, different examples are presented in this work. The optimization procedure is used to synthesize the array factor of a linear antenna array and to optimally design a coaxial feeding patch antenna for wireless applications. The obtained results show that SMO is efficient in reaching the optimum solutions with few number of experiments.
Spider Monkey Optimization: A Novel Technique for Antenna Optimization Ali A. Al-Azza, Ammar A. Al-Jodah, Frances J. Harackiewicz IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 2016 The aim of this letter is to introduce and use the spider monkey optimization (SMO) as an optimization technique for the electromagnetics and antenna communities. The SMO is a new swarm intelligence technique that models the foraging behavior of spider monkeys. To show the efficiency of the SMO, different examples are presented, and the results are compared to the results obtained using other popular optimization techniques. The optimization procedure is used to synthesize the array factor of a linear antenna array and to optimally design an E-shaped patch antenna for wireless applications. By comparing to traditional optimization techniques reported in the literature, it is evident that SMO is efficient in reaching the optimum solutions with less number of experiments .
Optimal sidelobes reduction and synthesis of circular array antennas using hybrid adaptive genetic algorithms 4th Microwave and Radar Week Mrw 2010 18th International Conference on Microwaves Radar and Wireless Communications MIKON 2010 Conference Proceedings, 2010
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
EMERGING INTERNET-OF-THINGS APPROACH IN MONITORING AND AUTOMATION OF INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT H Al-Kanan, AA Al-Azza Kufa Journal of Engineering 16 (4) , 2025 2025
Facial modelling and animation: An overview of the state-of-the art S Shakir, A Al-Azza Iraqi Journal for Electrical and Electronic Engineering 18 (1), 28-37 , 2021 2021 Citations: 14
Three-Stacked Dielectric Ring Resonator Loaded Hybrid Monopole Antenna for Improved Ultrawide Bandwidth. AA Al-Azza, NA Malalla, MM Morsy, FJ Harackiewicz Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal 35 (5), 545-550 , 2020 2020
Low profile tri-bands antenna for wireless applications AA Al-Azza, NA Malalla, MM Morsy, FJ Harackiewicz 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI … , 2019 2019 Citations: 6
Al-Azza, Nuhad A. Malalla, Mohamed M. Morsy, Frances J. Harackiewicz, Low Profile Tri-bands Antenna for Wireless Applications A Ali IEEE AP-S/URSI, Atlanta, Georgia , 2019 2019 Citations: 2
Stacked Conical-Cylindrical Hybrid Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Improved Ultrawide Bandwidth AA Al-Azza, N Malalla, FJ Harackiewicz, K Han Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters 79, 79-86 , 2018 2018 Citations: 20
Optimization of stepped patch antenna for ultra-wideband applications AA Al-Azza, NA Malalla, MM Morsy, HR Gorla, FJ Harackiewicz 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation & USNC/URSI … , 2018 2018 Citations: 3
The C-Arm Technique for the Detection of Kidney Stones Nuhad A. Malalla, PhD, Ali A. Al-Azza, PhD, Jun Qin, PhD, and Ying Chen, PhD Advances in Medicine and Biology 129, 270 , 2018 2018
Linear Antenna Array Synthesis Using Spider Monkey Optimization AA Al-Azza, AA Al-Jodah, FJ Harackiewicz Allerton Antenna Applications Symposium, Allerton, IL , 2016 2016
Spider monkey optimization (SMO): a novel optimization technique in electromagnetics AA Al-Azza, AA Al-Jodah, FJ Harackiewicz 2016 IEEE radio and wireless symposium (RWS), 238-240 , 2016 2016 Citations: 14
Optimization of dielectric loaded antenna for 5.8 GHz wireless applications with interference cancellation capability AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2016 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS), 29-31 , 2016 2016 Citations: 1
Al-Azza and Ammar A A Ali Al-Jodah and Frances J. Harackiewicz “Spider Monkey Optimization: A Novel … , 2016 2016 Citations: 3
Optimal antenna designs for wireless communication applications AAN Al-Azza Southern Illinois University at Carbondale , 2016 2016
Spider monkey optimization: A novel technique for antenna optimization AA Al-Azza, AA Al-Jodah, FJ Harackiewicz IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 15, 1016-1019 , 2015 2015 Citations: 161
Very compact open-slot antenna for wireless communication systems H Gorla Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters , 2015 2015 Citations: 12
Covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy optimization of patch antenna for wireless communication AA Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz, HR Gorla Progress In Electromagnetics Research 54, 85-91 , 2015 2015 Citations: 5
Compact low profile wideband rectangular patch antenna AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2014 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2014 2014 Citations: 1
Modified ultra wideband hybrid dielectric resonator antenna AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2014 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2014 2014 Citations: 2
Novel compact ultra wideband rectangular dielectric resonator antenna AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2013 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2013 2013 Citations: 2
Optimally design of hybrid rectangular dielectric resonator antenna by using genetic algorithms AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2013 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2013 2013
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Spider monkey optimization: A novel technique for antenna optimization AA Al-Azza, AA Al-Jodah, FJ Harackiewicz IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 15, 1016-1019 , 2015 2015 Citations: 161
Stacked Conical-Cylindrical Hybrid Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Improved Ultrawide Bandwidth AA Al-Azza, N Malalla, FJ Harackiewicz, K Han Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters 79, 79-86 , 2018 2018 Citations: 20
Facial modelling and animation: An overview of the state-of-the art S Shakir, A Al-Azza Iraqi Journal for Electrical and Electronic Engineering 18 (1), 28-37 , 2021 2021 Citations: 14
Spider monkey optimization (SMO): a novel optimization technique in electromagnetics AA Al-Azza, AA Al-Jodah, FJ Harackiewicz 2016 IEEE radio and wireless symposium (RWS), 238-240 , 2016 2016 Citations: 14
Concentric Circular Array Antenna Null Steering Synthesis by Using Modified Hybrid Ant Colony System Algorithm AA Noaman International Journal of Advancements in Computing Technology 2 (2), 144-157 , 2010 2010 Citations: 14
Very compact open-slot antenna for wireless communication systems H Gorla Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters , 2015 2015 Citations: 12
Optimal sidelobes reduction and synthesis of circular array antennas using hybrid adaptive genetic algorithms AA Noaman, AKS Abdallah, RS Ali IEEE Microwave Radar and Wireless Communications (MIKON), 18th International … , 2010 2010 Citations: 10
Low profile tri-bands antenna for wireless applications AA Al-Azza, NA Malalla, MM Morsy, FJ Harackiewicz 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI … , 2019 2019 Citations: 6
Covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy optimization of patch antenna for wireless communication AA Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz, HR Gorla Progress In Electromagnetics Research 54, 85-91 , 2015 2015 Citations: 5
Optimization of stepped patch antenna for ultra-wideband applications AA Al-Azza, NA Malalla, MM Morsy, HR Gorla, FJ Harackiewicz 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation & USNC/URSI … , 2018 2018 Citations: 3
Al-Azza and Ammar A A Ali Al-Jodah and Frances J. Harackiewicz “Spider Monkey Optimization: A Novel … , 2016 2016 Citations: 3
Al-Azza, Nuhad A. Malalla, Mohamed M. Morsy, Frances J. Harackiewicz, Low Profile Tri-bands Antenna for Wireless Applications A Ali IEEE AP-S/URSI, Atlanta, Georgia , 2019 2019 Citations: 2
Modified ultra wideband hybrid dielectric resonator antenna AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2014 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2014 2014 Citations: 2
Novel compact ultra wideband rectangular dielectric resonator antenna AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2013 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2013 2013 Citations: 2
Optimization of dielectric loaded antenna for 5.8 GHz wireless applications with interference cancellation capability AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2016 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS), 29-31 , 2016 2016 Citations: 1
Compact low profile wideband rectangular patch antenna AAN Al-Azza, FJ Harackiewicz 2014 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI … , 2014 2014 Citations: 1
EMERGING INTERNET-OF-THINGS APPROACH IN MONITORING AND AUTOMATION OF INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT H Al-Kanan, AA Al-Azza Kufa Journal of Engineering 16 (4) , 2025 2025
Three-Stacked Dielectric Ring Resonator Loaded Hybrid Monopole Antenna for Improved Ultrawide Bandwidth. AA Al-Azza, NA Malalla, MM Morsy, FJ Harackiewicz Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal 35 (5), 545-550 , 2020 2020
The C-Arm Technique for the Detection of Kidney Stones Nuhad A. Malalla, PhD, Ali A. Al-Azza, PhD, Jun Qin, PhD, and Ying Chen, PhD Advances in Medicine and Biology 129, 270 , 2018 2018
Linear Antenna Array Synthesis Using Spider Monkey Optimization AA Al-Azza, AA Al-Jodah, FJ Harackiewicz Allerton Antenna Applications Symposium, Allerton, IL , 2016 2016
