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Home > Research > NIBIB Intramural Labs > Laboratory for the Assessment of Medical Imaging Systems
Implications of Gender-based Differences in Cardiovascular Disease on Imaging for Treatment and Diagnosis Contents
Coronary Artery Imaging There are gender differences in the size of coronary arteries and in the character of atherosclerotic lesions that hinder the detection of coronary artery disease when using current-day angiography and computed tomography (CT) imaging modalities. These differences also affect the safety and effectiveness of interventions that employ image-guided therapeutic devices. This project focuses on these medical imaging challenges and develops recommendations for gender- and case-specific imaging protocols and device optimization.
This project aims to create mathematical, experimental, and computational tools that will yield critical data for the development of gender- and case-specific image acquisition protocols. Coronary imaging techniques based on more personalized information may lead to a reduction of the higher female mortality rates and improve treatment outcomes in both women and men. For the experimental support of the project, we built a high-resolution, laboratory-based, digital x-ray angiography and CT imaging system.
In parallel, we simulate the imaging chain of a flexible, clinically relevant angiography system using Monte Carlo computational methods that incorporate physical measurements from the experimental system. We called our simulator the "virtual cath lab" and developed lifelike virtual patient models of the adult male and female forms by superimposing images from CT angiograms onto 3-D anthropomorphic phantoms. We also developed a coronary artery disease pathology model that selectively generates stenosis in the virtual patient heart correlated to specified age and gender. The virtual cath lab is used to generate angiographic images for various system parameters such as the pixel size, x-ray dose, contrast agent dose, and x-ray energy. Our "virtual cardiologist" is the mathematical program that acts as the observer, reviewing the images and selecting the optimal system parameters that maximize detection for each patient. X-ray Imaging physics The project goal is to develop practical methodologies for the task-based assessment of medical x-ray imaging. Methods are focused in the spatial measurement of random and deterministic properties of imaging systems and their connection to clinical tasks. These methods aid in the performance prediction of imaging systems with the ultimate goal of optimizing projection and CT x-ray imaging. As an example, we apply the methods developed to optimize coronary angiography.
Badal A, Kyprianou IS, Badano A, Sempau J. Monte Carlo simulation of a realistic anatomical phantom described by triangle meshes: Application to prostate brachytherapy imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 86(1): 99-103, 2008. Badano A, Kyprianou IS, Jennings R, Sempau J. Anisotropic imaging performance in breast tomosynthesis. Medical Physics, 34(11): 4076-91, 2007. Kyprianou IS, Paquerault S, Gallas BD, Badano A, Park S, Myers KJ. Framework for determination of geometric parameters of a cone beam CT scanner for measuring the system response function and improved object reconstruction. 3rd IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging. Biomedical Imaging: Nano to Macro, 1248-1251, 2006. Badano A, Kyprianou IS, Sempau J. Anisotropic imaging performance in indirect x-ray imaging detectors. Medical Physics, 33(8): 2698-713, 2006. Kyprianou IS, Rudin S, Bednarek DR, Hoffmann KR. Generalizing the MTF and DQE to include x-ray scatter and focal spot unsharpness: Application to a new microangiographic system. Medical Physics, 32(2): 613-26, 2005. Rudin S, Wang Z, Kyprianou IS, Hoffman KR, Wu Y, Meng H, Guterman LR, Nemes B, Bednarek DR, Dmochowski J, Nelson Hopkins L. Measurement of flow modification in phantom aneurysm model: Comparison of coils and a longitudinally and axially asymmetric stent--initial findings. Radiology, 231: 272-276, 2004. Ganguly A, Rudin S, Bednarek D, Hoffman K, Kyprianou IS. Micro-angiography for neurovascular imaging: Experimental evalucation and feasibility. Medical Physics, 30(11): 3018-28, 2003. |
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Department of Health and Human Services |
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National Institutes of Health |
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