Since its introduction in 1973, x-ray CT has revolutionized radiographic imaging and become a cornerstone of every modern radiology department. Closely correlated to the development of x-ray CT, the research for higher performance system architectures and more advanced image reconstruction algorithms has been intensively pursued. We are in this field for over a decade and committed to making new breakthroughs. Representative achievements/projects include
For more info, please visit the XCT Lab website (under construction).
The fundamental theory of x-ray imaging has remained essentially the same since Roentgen’s invention a century ago, as it is solely based on the attenuation-contrast mechanism. Alternatively, we may also utilize other optical properties for x-ray imaging and tomography, such as refraction index and scattering coefficient, which could potentially revolutionize the field. In 2006, groundbreaking results have been reported on x-ray grating-based imaging, which motivated our team to explore in this direction. Representative projects include
For more info, please visit the XGI Lab website (under construction).
Mice and rats can serve as models of various human diseases and be made bioluminescent specific to molecular or cellular features of interest, like fireflies in the summer night emitting bioluminescent light. Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) we proposed in 2002 localizes and quantifies these bioluminescent features inside a living small animal from external bioluminescent views. BLT promises to accelerate or enable various pre-clinical applications. Representative achievements/projects include
For more info, please visit the Optical Molecular Tomography (OMT) Lab website (under construction).
Fluorescence is an optical luminescence phenomenon in which the molecular absorption of photons triggers the emission of photons at different wavelengths. Biological molecules of interest can be tagged with fluorophores for imaging. Recently, fluorescence imaging especially fluorescence tomography has attracted major attentions in not only pre-clinical research but also clinical translation. Representative achievements/projects include
For more info, please visit our OMT Lab website (under construction).
Ultrasound travels beyond the human hearing and is generally safe for biomedical use. We are primarily interested in ultrasound imaging for tissue characterization. Currently, we are also studying ultrasound tomography as well as focused ultrasound heating in vivo for clinical and preclinical applications. Representative projects include
For more info, please visit our Ultrasound Imaging (UI) Lab (under construction).
When a patient or animal is in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, the hydrogen nuclei in water molecules will align with the magnetic field. A radio frequency (RF) wave at the right frequency can push the protons out of alignment. Then, the protons are allowed for re-alignment, producing a detectable signal for tomographic imaging. Representative projects include
For more info, please visit our MRI Core (under construction).
Biomedical image analysis is to perform multi-dimensional signal processing and extract features of interest for clinical and preclinical purposes. This is a well-established yet very active field with many sophisticated techniques being improved or just emerging. Representative achievements/projects include
For more info, please visit our CT Colonography Group and Bioimaging Systems Lab.
Biomedical imaging and image analysis often involve extensive computing tasks, which can typically be implemented in parallel. High performance computing has been a hot area for decades, with impressive latest developments in cyber-infrastructure-enabled and data intensive computing for many biomedical applications. Virginia Tech gained international honors for building the System X – the fastest supercomputer at any academic institution in the world (http://www.apple.com/science/profiles/vatech2/). Representative achievements/projects include
For more info, please visit our HPC Lab (under construction) and Dr. Ni's HPC lab in University of Iowa.