Research
The Laboratory for Imaging Research and Informatics (IRIS), directed by Jerome Z. Liang, PhD, Professor of Radiology (School of Medicine) and Computer Science (College of Engineering and Applied Sciences), has been conducting various researches in Medical Imaging field ranging from image formation and processing to visualization. The objective of these researches is to develop cost-effective technologies for image-based patient diagnosis, treatment planning and follow-up evaluation, based on quantitative image reconstruction, accurate image-texture segmentation and real-time feature-based visualization. For detailed information, please visit the lab site: www.mil.sunysb.edu/iris.
Other Web links:
Medical Image Processing Laboratory
Laboratory for Imaging Research and Informatics Virtual Endoscopy
Carol Baldwin Breast Care Center Advanced Magnetic Resonance
In vivo cortical capillary flow now available at Stony Brook
We have recently made major improvements in the two-photon imaging facility at Stony Brook University and have obtained the first images in a living adult rat (Fig. 1). Flowing red blood cells could be seen clearly as dark streaks against the 70 KDa Dextran fluorescein plasma dye. An image was produced as a maximum intensity projection from a set of 86 individual images, each s
eparated by 2.0 mm. This provides a convenient method for displaying the three-dimensional network of capillaries using a simple 2-dimensional figure. Furthermore, we have also demonstrated the capability of obtaining real-time flow information from this imaging setup. By rapidly acquiring single line scans through any one of the vessels (~ 1 ms per line), the motion of individual red blood cells was depicted as a function of time (Fig. 2). Post-processing examination of this type of image allows analysis of flow velocity in the capillary as a function of time.
Figure 1: Maximum intensity projection image of a capillary network within the first 120 mm from the pial surface in a live normal adult rat. Due to a strobing effect between the microscope scan rate and the capillary flow rate, individual red blood cells can be seen within a number of the vessels (red arrow, RBC's). The inset shows these RBC's at higher magnification.
Figure 2: A. Flow "image" of individual capillaries, produced by rapidly scanning through the capillary many times per second. The vertical axis is time, while the horizontal axis is the position along the capillary. Red blood cells appear black against the green fluorescent-marked plasma. B. Analysis of one of these "image" yields a plot of average blood velocity vs. time, which also shows the pattern of pulsatility.
