BME Research:
Imaging

-- Vincent Rubino ��04

With millions of dollars being invested in the Biomedical Engineering field at Columbia alone, one of the newly established research laboratories within the University is the Biomedical Optics group headed by Professor Andreas H. Hielscher. Because of intriguing developments in this field, the Moment took some time to inquire about the details of the group's research at CU.

Professor Hielscher, who received his PhD from Rice University in 1995, has been developing optical techniques for in vivo tissue diagnostics. The main focus of his current research is the use of near-infrared light for tomographic imaging of various body parts. This research, commonly referred to as Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT), involves shining a laser at the tissue under examination, and analyzing the intensities of the light as it passes through the tissue. These transmitted and reflected intensities depend on the absorption and scattering properties of the tissue through which the laser is shined. The measured light intensities on the tissue surface can be used to reconstruct the spatial distribution of the optical properties inside the medium. According to the group's website (http://www.columbia.edu/~ahh2004), there are some difficulties with currently available reconstruction algorithms. To counter this problem, the group has developed a new approach referred to as gradient-based iterative image construction (GIIR). With proper reconstruction algorithms, it becomes possible to analyze such biological phenomenon as blood flow in brain tissues and the optical properties of joint fluids. The former could allow for proper diagnosis of various brain injuries and diseases such stroke and Alzheimer's disease, and the latter to diagnose specific forms of arthritis.

As technology and medicine are becoming increasingly intertwined, effective imaging techniques are of the utmost importance. These methods are able to diagnose many diseases without ever having to invade a patient's body. Already available are X-ray base computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and Ultrasound. New emerging techniques such as electrical impedance tomography (EIT), magneto-encephalography (MEG), and Prof. Hielscher's diffuse optical tomography, will further enhance our ability to make ever more accurate and earlier diagnoses, which will lead in turn to better treatment options.

For more information see: http://www.columbia.edu/~ahh2004
.