Breast Imaging: Development of fast imaging system for the detection of breast cancer and therapy monitoring
The goal of the Breast Imaging Project is to design and validate an instrument for rapid optical imaging using digital detection techniques. The breast imager was recently completed, employing digital detection techniques that include multiple digital signal processor (DSP) chips for processing data. Configured in a master-slave architecture, these DSP chips can streamline data collection while minimizing cost, improving scalability, and maintaining low noise levels.
Peripheral Artery Disease Imaging: Assessing perfusion within the foot
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects approximately 12 million people in the US and is considered the leading cause of low-extremity amputations, responsible for over 70,000 amputations annually. PAD is caused by an accumulation of plaque in the vessels of the lower extremities, which leads to stenosis and reduction in blood flow. If not properly treated, PAD can lead to critical limb ischemia with consequent cells death, ulcers, and gangrene. The disease affects mostly the elderly, diabetics, and patients with kidney problems.
Joint Imaging: Development of algorithms & software to diagnose and monitor Rheumatoid Arthritis with DOT
The Joint Imaging Project aims to establish DOT imaging as a viable tool for diagnosing and monitoring Rheumatoid Arthritis through scans of proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints. Completed milestones of the project include the development of a dedicated frequency-domain DOT imaging system for scanning PIP joints and the necessary reconstruction algorithms for recovering the optical properties of the internal physiology of the finger joint.
Small Animal Imaging: Design & development of novel imaging system for full-body fluorescence tomography
A hot topic in Optical Tomography is whole-body in-vivo optical imaging of small animals for its utility as a powerful tool for pre-clinical research. However, most commercial and prototype optical imaging systems are a camera based planar imaging systems and they cannot provide multi-directional views and measurement data that can improve the image reconstruction results.
Infantile Hemangiomas Evaluation and Monitoring: assessment of infantile hemangiomas using a handheld wireless diffuse optical spectroscopic device
The goal of the Wireless Imager Project is to design, develop, and validate a handheld wireless device (HWD) to perform near-infrared spectroscopic measurements on infantile hemangiomas (IH). This device contains four sources and two photodetectors distanced 0.6 and 2.0 cm apart. Raw data, as recorded by the detectors, is used to evaluate hemoglobin concentrations and tissue oxygen saturation of superficial tissue. An accompanying software package was developed for an Android based mobile phone which can be used to directly control the imaging device.