CSC researchers win award at World Medical Imaging Congress
Members of the CSC Metabolic and Molecular Imaging group and the Biological Imaging Centre have been awarded the accolade of Best Image for a poster showcasing their research in a special reception organised by Siemens at the World Medical Congress (WMIC) 2011 in San Diego.
Miss Leigh Brody and Mr Mohammad Hankir, PhD students in Metabolic and Molecular Imaging group under Professor Jimmy Bell, worked with Dr Magdy Khalil of the Biological Imaging Centre (BIC) to capture hybrid or fused images using complementary scanning techniques, allowing a more in-depth investigation into the biomolecular processes behind diseases. They used the BIC’s state-of-the-art Inveon® imaging system to collect both positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography-angiography (CTA) scans in one in vivo imaging session, allowing greater elucidation of processes, in this case vascular function in a mouse.
This combination of complementary techniques provides important information that will inform future experiments and improve how much information can be extracted from scanning sessions, for instance by allowing tracers to be localised to specific tissues. It also allows the choice of tracers and how they are introduced into the animal to be optimized in order to understand different characteristics of disease disorders more quickly.
On sharing news of the accolade with his coworkers, BIC’s Dr Khalil who was at the imaging congress wrote, “congratulations…I’ve also heard that our work will be made highly [visible] for those attending WMIC.” Siemens Medical solutions have also selected the image to be among those for their 2011 annual poster.
Talking about the work, Dr Khalil said, “future application of this technique would allow researchers to correlate the blood flow in microvessels with perfused tissues, in order to reveal more insights of disease characteristics.”
Researchers at the CSC benefit from a wealth of expertise provided by some world class in-house research support facilities, including imaging, biochemical analyses, and bioinformatics and computational modelling.
