2007 February DAI News - Carl E Ravin Advanced Imaging

DAI News
February 2007
A Newsletter of the Duke Advanced Imaging Laboratories
Editorial
In life, we engage in a variety of activities, ranging from the ordinary “busy-ness” of everyday life
(earning a living, paying our taxes, answering our emails) to extraordinary activities that go beyond
our material existential needs (engaging in scientific or artistic pursuits, caring for loved ones, etc).
One is essential for the maintenance of self, while the other impacts people beyond one’s self.
While I do not wish to suggest that ordinary activities are categorically less noble (not wishing to get
into an argument with proponents of Eastern thought), there is a sense in which one can measure
one’s success in life in terms of one’s impact on others, either directly or indirectly (hence the
Impact Factor of journals and so on). Ordinary activities also have a tendency to clutter our minds
and even our spirit. That is why it is important to sometimes sit back and reflect: Am I truly doing
what I think I should be doing; am I doing anything beyond self-maintenance, and is that what I want
to do with my life?
Editors:
Ehsan Samei
Nicole Ranger
This Issue
Editorial
New Faculty
Award and Honors
Focus on Research
Research Updates
Obituary
New Publications
Promotions
Alumni News
Arrivals/Departures
It is now five months since Carey Floyd passed away. Over these months we have processed his
departure to some extent. Life has gone on and each of us has gone back to doing our “stuff”
(papers, grants, coding, whatever). But a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by a new realization
that took me by surprise: We can look around and see Carey’s footsteps everywhere: in papers,
grants, projects, in the small methodological nuances of our studies, in the very existence of DAI
Labs, even in my own coincidental decision to come to Duke while being evacuated for “Hurricane
Floyd!” He has become part of our history. He has left such an undeniably profound imprint on
many of us that, in spirit, he has become an ever-present member of DAI Labs. You may call this
part of his legacy. Without wanting to overdramatize this, it really warms my heart when I think
that I am here and I am doing what I am doing because of Carey to a significant extent. I think we
can measure Carey’s life in terms of his impact on each one of us, big or small, whether sought after
or not - not a static impact, but a living one that continues on… May this be an inspiration for each
of us as we consider how to shape our own lives, professional and personal, in terms of our impact
on others and the legacy we leave behind.
Ehsan Samei, Director
Awards and Honors
New Faculty: W. Paul Segars
Christina Shafer, BS was awarded the prestigious
Clare Boothe Luce fellowship for 06-07.
DAI Labs was pleased to
welcome William Paul Segars,
PhD, who joined DAI Labs
faculty in Oct 2006. Paul
obtained his B.S. in Computer
Engineering from the Univ. of
South Carolina in 1996 and
his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from UNC,
Chapel Hill in 2000. He is currently working
on an NIH funded project to develop accurate
computer-based medical imaging simulation
tools for 3D and 4D CT research, including
computational modeling of the entire human
anatomy and physiology and the x-ray CT
imaging process. A further extension of his
work is focused on evaluating the effects of
respiratory motion on SPECT and PET imaging
and CT-based attenuation correction for
multi-modality SPECT-CT and PET-CT
scanners. He has also begun studying the
effects of heart motion on CT angiography.
See Focus on Research pg. 2. For more
information contact: paul.segars@duke.edu
Amar Chawla, MS and his team won the Duke Start-Up Challenge for
"most intriguing award in the Hi-Tech/IT/Software category" for a
stereo/biplane correlation imaging proposal for homeland security.
Christina Li, BS, was awarded a graduate fellowship from the DOD to
investigate the use of temporal subtraction in breast tomosynthesis.
Jonathan Jesneck, BS is one of the finalists in the competition for best
Medical Physics paper in 2006. We wish him luck.
Nicole T. Ranger, MSc was appointed as Co-Chair of a new AAPM Task
Group charged with developing guidelines for acceptance testing and
quality control of digital radiography systems.
Ehsan Samei, PhD was invited to join the AAPM Advisory Board for
Resident Education in Radiology and Radiation Oncology. He was also
appointed to the the AAPM Science Council, and was reappointed for
another three-year term as an Associate Editor for Medical Physics.
Georgia D. Tourassi, PhD had her work featured in the August 10th,
2006 issue of The Economist in an article entitled “Your Bosom Buddy A new technology that may improve the detection of breast cancer”.
She was also elected Associate Editor of Neuro-Computing.
Focus on Research: Medical Imaging Simulation and Computer Phantoms
Dr. Paul Segars, PhD, who recently joined DAI Labs from Johns
Hopkins University, has been researching the use of computerbased simulation techniques to investigate and optimize medical
imaging systems and methods using virtual subjects (phantoms)
and computational models of the imaging system.
Phantoms provide an exact specification of the subject’s anatomy
and physiology and can be “virtually” imaged, using a computer
model of the imaging process for the imaging modality of interest
(PET, SPECT, MRI, CT, etc.) A major advantage to this approach
is that the exact anatomy and physiology of the “virtual subject”
are known, thus providing a known truth from which to evaluate
and improve medical imaging device performance and image
processing and reconstruction techniques. Computer phantoms
can also be easily altered to reflect differences arising from
gender, age and health status thereby providing a large virtual
population of subjects for research purposes.
Dr. Segars is among the leaders in developing realistic computer
phantoms for use in medical imaging research, including whole
body models for the human male and female as well as small
animal models for the laboratory mouse and rat. These phantoms
provide excellent tools with which to study the effects of anatomy
and motion during medical and small animal imaging. The human
phantoms, with the ability to model many different anatomies,
provide the necessary foundation with which to optimize current
x-ray CT imaging techniques in terms of image quality and
radiation dose, work that is supported by the NIH grant RO1
EB001838. Such studies cannot be performed using live patients
due to the high radiation doses required of current CT systems;
they can only be performed using realistic computer-based
simulation.
Focus on Research: Neutron-Stimulated Emission Computed Tomography (NSECT)
The Neutron Stimulated Emission Computed Tomography (NSECT) research initiated by the late Dr. Carey Floyd is being carried on by his two graduate students,
Anuj Kapadia and Amy Sharma under the supervision of Drs. Tourassi and Howell.
NSECT imaging involves irradiating the object or anatomical section of interest
using high-energy neutrons that excite elemental nuclei through inelastic scatter.
As the nuclei relax, characteristic gamma rays are emitted enabling identification
of the irradiated body’s elemental composition. The link between elemental
composition and disease state is well established in both tumors and liver
diseases. Recently we have made progress in quantifying concentrations of
several elements within tissue samples. In one instance, the feasibility of using
NSECT to monitor liver iron levels in-vivo for the diagnosis and management of
patients with iron overload is being investigated. Anuj Kapadia is working on
determining an optimal scanning strategy for this specific application with
respect to accuracy and patient dose. Amy Sharma is refining a high-energy
gamma camera she has developed for use in NSECT imaging and is currently
developing performance metrics for this device. Janelle Bender is busy wrapping
up her NSECT work and determining which elements would be indicators of malignant breast tumors. Shown at left: 1. NSECT scanning setup showing relative
placement of the gamma detector, beam line and human torso phantom containing iron-overloaded bovine liver within a water background 2. a spectrum
showing a well resolved iron peak from a Geant4 simulation corresponding to this
setup and 3. simulated object with two concentrations in a uniform background
compared with the reconstructed image from the new gamma camera design.
Research Updates:
 Preliminary results of an NIH-funded trial of tomosynthesis for pulmonary nodule detection indicates that up to
almost twice as many nodules are visible in tomosynthesis images as in conventional PA chest radiographs, according
to project P.I., Dr. James Dobbins. Studies to measure observer performance using ROC analysis are ongoing. In the
Fall of 2006, GE Healthcare released for worldwide sale the first commercial chest tomosynthesis product, following a
6-year collaborative effort with Dr. Dobbins’ lab.
 For the breast tomosynthesis project, we have just wrapped up the first 3-year research agreement with Siemens
Medical Solutions, with a new 2-year agreement pending. In addition, project PI Dr. Lo received an NIH R01 grant for
the next 4 years. We recently broke the 200 subject mark in our on-going clinical trials and presented our initial
clinical experiences at RSNA 2006. Compared to conventional mammography, tomosynthesis improved sensitivity of
lesion detection by 20%, reduced callback rate by 33%, and was subjectively preferred by 3/4 of all subjects.
 In collaboration with Dr. John Boone of UC Davis, Dr. Lo and Jessie Xia are studying denoising techniques for
dedicated breast CT. In collaboration with Dr. Victoria Seewaldt, Drs. Lo and Tourassi will be continuing the research
previously performed by Dr. Bilska-Wolak in combining microscopy and radiology data to predict breast cancer risk.
 Dr. Samei, Amar Chawla and Sarah Boyce are in the process of completing the construction of a prototype acquisition
system to evaluate correlative imaging in the chest. Equipped with a flat panel detector from Varian, the system will
be capable of acquiring multi-projection images from any vertical- or horizontal-oblique orientation within a ± 20
degree range.
 On the medical display research front, a project to evaluate the impact of ambient lighting on the observer
performance (led by Dr. Samei, Amar Chawla, and Ben Pollard) has recently led to some outstanding results indicating
an improvement in target detection with added ambient lighting, confirming our earlier theoretical prediction (see
Med Phys Jan 07 issue). Dr. Samei also recently received a research collaboration grant from EIZO Nanao Corporation
to further study the effect of ambient lighting on image display systems. He also received an equipment grant from
Planar Systems Inc. to evaluate their stereo-display imaging system for chest and breast applications.
 The pediatric CT project (led by Dr. Samei and Xiang Li in collaboration with Dr. Frush), is progressing with
completion of the benchmarking of our Monte Carlo simulation results with experimental measurements, yielding less
than 5% deviation between the actual and predicted values. In other Monte Carlo simulation research, Dr. Saunders
recently studied the impact of breast compression on the image quality-dose balance in breast tomosynthesis.
 Our evaluation of correlation imaging for breast applications (led by Dr. Samei, Dr. Saunders, and Amar Chawla), is
advancing with recent completion of a CAD algorithm for bi-plane correlation imaging which has yielded preliminary
findings on FFDM images indicating 95% sensitivity at 6 false positives per single image. We have also completed the
observer-model-based optimization of angular range and number of projections.
 In collaboration with colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Utah, Dr. Segars is currently
seeking an NIH grant to develop a multi-scale finite-element model of the human heart, spanning the biophysical
range from cell to population, capable of realistically simulating normal and abnormal cardiac anatomy and function.
 In collaboration with Dr. G. Allan Johnson at the Duke Center for In Vivo Microscopy (CIVM), Dr. Segars is developing a
computational model for the laboratory rat anatomy and physiology similar to the human models. This model will be
based on high-resolution magnetic resonance microscopy data of a Fischer rat obtained from the CIVM. Such a model
will provide a valuable tool to develop, evaluate, and improve small animal imaging techniques.
 The NSECT project, initiated by the late Dr. Carey Floyd, has been progressing well despite the significant setback of
losing it’s greatest proponent. The experimental implementation has reached the stage of being able to detect iron in
liver tissue phantoms. Through experiments performed at TUNL with Dr. Calvin Howell’s group, spectra have been
obtained from iron overload phantoms, demonstrating the ability of NSECT to diagnose this disorder.
 Dr. Tourassi has been working on the development of a robust computational technique for risk stratification and
patient-specific customization of CAD technology to improve the efficacy of computerized decision aids in Radiology
(Med Phys, Feb 2007 issue). In addition, she is applying advanced computational intelligence methods such as genetic
algorithms and particle swarm optimization for multi-objective optimization of our CAD systems using clinically
relevant objective functions.
 The interactive, information-theoretic CAD project led by Dr. Tourassi continues with the most recent studies
showing competitive detection performance in screening mammograms as well as unique ability to transfer knowledge
across image databases, and multiplatform adaptability. Dr. Tourassi has also been exploring indexing schemes for
improved speed of CAD systems. Recent results with an entropy-based indexing scheme are extremely encouraging
suggesting a 75% reduction in computational demands without any reduction in detection accuracy. The same indexing
schemes are investigated as the basis of selection mechanisms for building a concise knowledge database.
 Dr. Samei, Dr. Dobbins, Nicole Ranger and collaborators at KCARE, UK, have just completed an evaluation of seven
radiographic systems representing a range of detector technologies using a new metric of image quality (termed
"Effective DQE”; i.e. DQE evaluated in a clinically realistic context). The new metric reflects the performance of an
imaging system with the added contributions from scatter, focal spot blur, and use of an anti-scatter grid.
In Memory of
Carey Everett Floyd Jr., PhD
March 17, 1954 - August 28, 2006
A Duke faculty member for over 20 years, Carey Everett Floyd, Jr., 52, died at home on August 28th after a lengthy
battle with cancer. His love for life and for others sustained him during his illness, and he relished the time spent
in conversation with family, friends, and his numerous students until his very last days. He continued the scientific
work he so enjoyed right until the end of his life, even after experiencing diminished physical stamina in recent
months. He was the epitome of courage, creativity, and dedication, and was greatly loved by many people.
Carey was born on March 17, 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee. He received his undergraduate degree from Eckerd
College in Florida and his PhD in physics at Duke University in 1981 in the area of experimental nuclear physics.
He took a postdoctoral fellowship at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory in 1982, and a subsequent
postdoctoral fellowship in the department of radiology at Duke University Medical Center in 1983. He became a
full professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at Duke in 1997.
An eminent scientist, Dr. Floyd made numerous significant contributions to the science of medical imaging. His
early work included important contributions in nuclear medicine, including a pioneering method of reconstructing
SPECT images known as the inverse Monte Carlo technique. He then became well known for many significant
research efforts in digital radiography, and he established one of the pre-eminent laboratories in the world in the
field of computer-aided detection and diagnosis (CAD). CAD uses artificial intelligence in conjunction with medical
images and patient information in order to improve the detection and diagnosis of disease. One of his last research
efforts was a novel combination of nuclear physics and medical imaging, wherein neutrons are used to stimulate
gamma emission for the imaging of trace elements in the body. In recognition of his significant scientific
contributions, Dr. Floyd was awarded a lifetime career achievement award from the department of radiology
at Duke University on July 14, 2006.
Dr. Floyd served the scientific community well in many capacities, including several decades on grant review
study sections at the National Institutes of Health. He was director of the Digital Imaging Research Division
within the department of radiology at Duke from 1992 until 2004. He also was co-director of the Duke Tumor
Registry, and was involved in the establishment of the new medical physics graduate program at Duke.
More important than his luminary scientific accomplishments was his superb mentorship of dozens of individual
students over the past two decades. He mentored numerous PhD students in biomedical engineering, many of
whom now have influential careers of their own. He truly cared for his students, and they greatly loved him.
In recognition of Carey’s superb mentorship of students, a new graduate fellowship at Duke University was
established in his honor. The Carey E. Floyd, Jr., Graduate Fellowship will be administered by the Medical
Physics Graduate Program at Duke, and will provide future generations of outstanding students the distinction
of being named Floyd Fellows.
Carey was truly a renaissance man, excelling in numerous areas outside of science. He was a gifted musician,
playing bass and guitar in ten bands over the years. He loved model rocketry and model trains, and was a skilled
craftsman, as evidenced by the numerous house renovation projects he undertook. He enjoyed boating, and
most of all, he treasured the company of family and friends with whom he loved to converse for hours on end
about interesting topics. He was a humble, caring, loyal, and courageous person who will be greatly missed by
those who knew and loved him.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Floyd; his father, Carey E. Floyd; and his stepmother, Ann Herbert Floyd of
Nashville, Tennessee.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Carey’s memory to the Carey E. Floyd, Jr.,
Graduate Fellowship, in care of the Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University Medical Center,
Suite 101, 2424 Erwin Road, Durham NC, 27705.
Carey Floyd in Spring 2006
DAI Labs Publications in 2006
1.
Badano A, Schneider S, Samei E. Visual assessment of angular response in medical LCDs, Journal of Digital Imaging 19(3): 240248, 2006.
2.
Bender JE, Floyd CE, Harrawood BP, Kapadia AJ, Sharma AC, Jesneck JL. The effect of detector resolution for quantitative
analysis of neutron stimulated emission computed tomography. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 1597-1605, 2006.
3.
Borasi G, Samei E, Bertolini M, Nitrosi A, Tassoni D. Contrast-detail analysis of two indirect flat panel detectors for digital
radiography. Medical Physics 33(6): 1707-1719, 2006.
4.
Boyce S, Samei E. Imaging properties of digital magnification radiography. Medical Physics 33(4): 984-996, 2006.
5.
Chawla AS, Samei E. A method for reduction of eye fatigue by optimizing the ambient light conditions in medical imaging reading
rooms. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6145: 10-21, 2006.
6.
Chawla AS, Saunders RS, Samei E. Effect of dose reduction on the detection of mammographic lesions based on mathematical
observer models. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6146: 141-152, 2006.
7.
Chawla AS, Samei E. Are we in the dark about reading medical images? SPIE News, 2006
8.
Chawla A, Samei E. Geometrical repeatability and motion blur analysis of a new multi-projection x-ray imaging system. Proc.
IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium - Medical Imaging Conference (NSS MIC), PID=M14-234, 2006.
9.
Chen Y, Lo JY, Baker JA, Dobbins III JT. Gaussian frequency blending algorithm with Matrix Inversion Tomosynthesis (MITS) and
Filtered Back Projection (FBP) for better digital breast tomosynthesis reconstruction. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 122-130,
2006.
10.
Chen Y, Lo JY, Baker JA, Dobbins III JT. Noise power spectrum analysis for several digital breast tomosynthesis reconstruction
algorithms. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 1677-1684, 2006.
11.
Cleland EW, Samei E. Performance evaluation of a commercial system for quantitative measurement of display resolution and
noise. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6141: 256-262, 2006.
12.
Descourt P, Segars WP, Lamare F, Ferrer L, Tsui BMW, Bardies M, and Visvikis D. RTNCAT (Real Time NCAT): Implementing Real
Time Physiological Movement of Voxellised Phantoms in GATE. Conference Record of the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference and
Nuclear Science Symposium, 2006.
13.
Dobbins III JT, Samei E, Ranger NT, Chen Y. Inter-comparison of methods for image quality characterization: 2. Noise power
spectrum. Medical Physics 33(5): 1466-1475, 2006.
14.
Fetterly KA, Samei E. A Photographic technique for assessing the viewing angle performance of liquid crystal displays. Journal
of the Society for Information Display (JSID) 14: 867-872, 2006.
15.
Floyd CE, Bender JE, Sharma AC, Kapadia AJ, Xia J, Harrawood BP, Tourassi GD, Lo JY, Crowell A, Howell CR. Introduction to
neutron stimulated emission computed tomography. Phys Med Biol 51: 3375-3390, 2006.
16.
Floyd Jr CE, Bender JE, Harrawood B, Sharma AC, Kapadia A, Tourassi GD, Lo JY, Howell C. Breast cancer diagnosis using neutron
stimulated emission computed tomography: dose and count requirements. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 597-603, 2006.
17.
Fung GSK, Segars WP, Fishman EK, and Tsui BMW. Development of a computer-generated model for the coronary arterial tree
based on multi-slice CT and morphometric data. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 578-587, 2006.
18.
Godfrey DJ, McAdams HP, Dobbins III JT. Optimization of the matrix inversion tomosynthesis (MITS) impulse response and
modulation transfer function characteristics for chest imaging. Medical Physics 33(3): 655-667, 2006.
19.
Habas PA, Zurada JM, Elmaghraby AS, Tourassi GD. Confidence-based stratification of CAD recommendations with application to
breast cancer detection. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6144: 1759-1766, 2006.
20.
Hoe CL, Samei E, Frush DP, Delong DM. Simulation of liver lesions for pediatric CT. Radiology 238: 699-705, 2006.
21.
Huda W, Ogden KM, Scalzetti EM, Lavallee RL, Samei E. X-ray tube voltage (kV) and image quality in adult and pediatric CT. Proc.
SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 900-910, 2006.
22.
Jesneck JL, Nolte LW, Baker JA, Lo JY. The effect of data set size on computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer: comparing
decision fusion to a linear discriminant. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6146: 359-364, 2006.
23.
Jesneck JL, Nolte LW, Baker JA, Floyd CE, Lo JY, "Optimized approach to decision fusion of heterogeneous data for breast
cancer diagnosis," Medical Physics 33(8): 2945-54, 2006.
24.
Lin MD, Samei E, Badea CT, Johnson GA. Optimized radiographic spectra for small animal digital subtraction angiography.
Medical Physics 33(11): 4249-4257, 2006.
25.
Lo JY, Bilska-Wolak AO, Baker JA, Tourassi GD, Markey MK, Floyd Jr CE. “Computer-aided diagnosis in breast imaging: where
do we go after detection?” In: Recent Advances in Mammography, Breast Imaging, and Computer-aided Diagnosis of Breast
Cancer, Editors: JS Suri, RM Rangayyan. SPIE Press, Bilingham, WA, 2006, pp. 875-904.
26.
Madhav P, McKinley RL, Samei E, Bowsher JE, Tornai MP. A novel method to characterize the MTF in 3D for computed
mammotomography. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 697-706, 2006.
27.
Majdi Nasab N, Samei E, Dobbins JT. Biplane correlation imaging for lung nodule detection: initial human subject results. Proc.
SPIE Medical Imaging 6144: 646-653, 2006.
DAI Labs Publications in 2006 (continued)
28.
Majdi Nasab N, Samei E. The impact of angular separation on the performance of biplane correlation imaging for lung nodule
detection. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 445-453, 2006.
29.
Markey MK, Tourassi GD, Margolis M, DeLong DM. Impact of missing data in evaluating artificial neural networks trained on
complete data. Comput Biol Med 36(5): 516-25, 2006.
30.
McAdams HP, Samei E, Dobbins III JT, Tourassi G, Ravin CE. Recent advances in chest radiography (invited article). Radiology
241(3): 663-683, 2006.
31.
Rahmim A, Cheng JC, Dinelle K, Segars WP, Shilov MA, Rousset OG, Tsui BMW, Wong DF, and Sossi V. System Matrix Modeling of
Externally Tracked Motion. Conference Record of the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference and Nuclear Science Symposium, 2006.
32.
Rahmim A, Dinelle K, Cheng JC, Shilov MA, Segars WP, Rousset OG, Tsui BMW, Wong DF, and Sossi V. Accurate Motion
Compensation Incorporating All Detected Events in the HRRT Scanner. Conference Record of the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference
and Nuclear Science Symposium, 2006.
33.
Roehrig H, Gaskill J, Fan J, Martin C, Greivenkamp J, Samei E. In-field evaluation of the modulation transfer function and the
signal-to-noise ratio of electronic display devices. Journal of the Society for Information Display (JSID) 14: 847-860, 2006.
34.
Samei E, Cleland EW, Roehrig H. In-field assessment of display resolution and noise: performance evaluation of a commercial
measurement system. Journal of the Society for Information Display (JSID) 14: 839-845, 2006.
35.
Samei E, Wright SL. Viewing angle performance of medical liquid crystal displays. Medical Physics 33(3): 645-654, 2006.
36.
Samei E, Ranger NT, Dobbins III JT, Chen Y. Inter-comparison of methods for image quality characterization: 1. Modulation
transfer function. Medical Physics 33(5): 1454-1465, 2006.
37.
Samei E. The role of image perception in radiology (guest editorial). Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR) 3(6): 400401, 2006.
38.
Saunders RS, Samei E, Baker JA, Delong DM, Scott Soo M, Walsh R, Pisano E, Kuzmiak CM, Pavic D. Comparison of LCD and CRT
displays based on efficacy for mammographic tasks. Academic Radiology 13: 1317-1326, 2006.
39.
Saunders RS, Samei E, Baker JA. Simulation of mammographic lesions. Academic Radiology 13: 860-870, 2006.
40.
Saunders RS, Samei E. A Monte Carlo investigation on the impact of scattered radiation on image resolution and noise. Proc. SPIE
Medical Imaging 6142: 1121-1127, 2006.
41.
Saunders RS, Samei E. Resolution and noise measurements of selected commercial medical displays. Medical Physics 33(2): 308319, 2006.
42.
Saunders RS, Samei E. Improving mammographic decision accuracy by incorporating observer ratings with interpretation time.
British Journal of Radiol 79: S117-S122, 2006.
43.
Segars WP, Mok SP, and Tsui BMW. Investigation of Equal Magnitude Respiratory Gating in Quantitative Myocardial SPECT.
Conference Record of the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference and Nuclear Science Symposium, 2006.
44.
Sharma AC, Tourassi GD, Kapadia AJ, Bender JE, Xia JQ, Harrawood BP, Crowell AS, Kiser MR, Howell CR, Floyd CE.
Development of a High-Energy Gamma Camera for use with NSECT Imaging of the Breast. Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE NSS-MIC.
San Diego, CA Nov. 2006.
45.
Shilov MA, Frey EC, Segars WP, Xu J, and Tsui BMW. Optimization of Gated Liver FDG PET with Non-Uniform Respiration.
Conference Record of the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference and Nuclear Science Symposium, 2006.
46.
Siegel E, Krupinski E, Samei E, Flynn MJ, Andriole K, Erickson B, Thomas J, Badano A, Seibert JA, Pisano E. Digital mammography
image quality: image display. Journal of American College of Radiology 3(8): 615-627, 2006.
47.
Taguchi K, Segars WP, Fung GSK, and Tsui BMW. Toward time resolved 4D cardiac CT imaging with patient dose reduction:
estimating the global heart motion. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 173-181, 2006.
48.
Taguchi K, Segars WP, Fung GSK, and Tsui BMW. Toward time resolved 4D cardiac CT imaging with patient dose reduction:
estimating the global heart motion. Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 6142: 173-181, 2006.
49.
Tang J, Segars WP, and Tsui BMW. Cardiac Motion Estimation from Gated Emission Computed Tomography Images. Conference
Record of the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference and Nuclear Science Symposium, 2006.
50.
Tourassi GD, “Computer-Assisted Radiology” Wiley Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering, J. Wiley & Sons, Inc. Publishers,
Hoboken, NJ, 2006.
51.
Tourassi GD, Delong DM, Floyd CE Jr. A study on the computerized fractal analysis of architectural distortion in screening
mammograms. Phys Med Biol. 51(5): 1299-312, 2006.
52.
Veress AI, Segars WP, Tsui BMW, Weiss JA, and Gullberg GT. Normal and pathological NCAT image and phantom data based on
physiologically realistic left ventricle finite element models. IEEE Trans on Med Imaging, 25 (12), p. 1604-1616, 2006.
53.
Zhao W, Andriole K, Samei E, “Digital Radiography and Fluoroscopy” In: Advances in Medical Physics, AB Solbart, R Zamenhof,
ME Clouse, and A Dritschilo (eds). Medical Physics Publishing, Madison, WI 2006, pp. 1-23.
Promotions
Alumni News
Jay A. Baker, MD Chief of Mammography Division was promoted to Associate
Professor of Radiology
Anya O. Bilkska-Wolak, PhD and
her husband are expecting a new
addition to their family.
H. Paige McAdams, MD Chief of Thoracic Imaging Division was promoted to
Professor of Radiology
Arrivals/Departures
Anya O. Bilska-Wolak, PhD, Research Associate, accepted a position as
Scientist/Engineer at Logos Technologies based in Arlington, VA.
Vorakarn Chanyavanich, MS, PhD student in Medical Physics (advised by J. Lo)
joined the lab 09/06, his dissertation topic is to be determined.
Mia Markey, PhD received the 2006
American Medical Infomatics
Association (AMIA) New Investigator
Award and the 2006 American
Society for Engineering Education
Gulf-Southwest Section Outstanding
Teaching Award.
Faces of DAI Labs
Xiang Li, MS, PhD student in Medical Physics (advised by E. Samei) joined the lab
09/06 to work on a dissertation assessing the relationship of image quality and
radiation dose in pediatric CT.
Sasha Jarrett, BS, research coordinator, left to commence studies at Duke
University Medical School.
Anne Jarvis, BS, joined the lab as a clinical trials specialist to coordinate the
human subject research for Breast Tomosynthesis and CAD studies.
Robert Jones, BA, 3rd year medical student (advised by E. Samei) joined the lab
in 09/06 and is working to construct a database of pediatric CT cases and assess
the utility of CAD for lesion detection in pediatric CT.
Shawn Mendonca, an independent-study student (advised by J. Lo) joined the lab
in August 2006 to work on applications of the Bayesian Image Estimation Technique
to Breast Tomosynthesis.
Ben Pollard, BS, MS student in Medical Physics (advised by G. Tourassi and E.
Samei) joined the lab 09/06 and is working to develop a GUI for mammo CAD
applications and to assess the impact of ambient lighting on radiologist
performance.
William Paul Segars, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology, joined the faculty
09/06 (See Profile pg. 1 and Focus on Research, pg. 2).
Christina Shafer, BS, PhD student in Biomedical Engineering (advised by J. Lo)
joined the lab 09/06, her dissertation topic is to be determined.
Duke Advanced Imaging Laboratories (DAI Labs)
Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center
2424 Erwin Road, Suite 302
Durham, NC 27705
Tel 919-684-1440, FAX 919-684-1492
URL: dailabs.duhs.duke.edu
From top left corner:
J Lo, J Dobbins, E Samei, G Tourassi, W Segars
B Harrawood, P McAdams, C Ravin, J Baker, N Ranger,
R Saunders, J Jesneck, B Britt, A Chen, A Kapadia
A Sharma, S Singh, J Xia, A Chawla, S Boyce
C Li, C Shafer, X Li, V Chanyavanich, B Pollard