Events Calendar

Biomedical Engineering Seminars

Speaker: Kathy Nightingale, PhD, Professor, Duke University

Talk Title: Ultrasonic Elasticity Imaging with Acoustic Radiation Force

Abstract: Elasticity imaging involves introducing a mechanical tissue perturbation, imaging the resulting tissue response, and generating images that reflect the underlying mechanical properties of the tissue. Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) based ultrasonic elasticity imaging methods have become widely available in the clinical market over the past five years. To date, these methods have found success clinically in the context of hepatic fibrosis staging and breast lesion characterization, with many additional applications under investigation. A major focus our laboratory has been the development and implementation of high resolution ARFI elasticity imaging methods for prostate cancer imaging and treatment guidance, with initial in vivo findings demonstrating that ARFI imaging is specific for clinically significant prostate cancer. Commercially available ARFI methods that evaluate shear wave propagation to provide quantitative stiffness estimates generally assume that the tissues are linear, isotropic, elastic, homogeneous, and incompressible in order to reconstruct the underlying material stiffness. Our recent work in shear wave imaging focuses on understanding the sources of error in these systems, and developing methods that address some of the underlying assumptions, i.e. using 3D volumetric imaging to analyze material anisotropy, using multi-dimensional filters and two and three dimensional shear wave monitoring to improve image quality in structured media, and exploring different approaches to estimate shearwave dispersion. In this talk, I will review the underlying physics and discuss the promise and limitations of these methods.

Biography: Dr. Nightingale is the James L. and Elizabeth M. Vincent Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, and she is the director of the Duke Medical Imaging Training Program. Her research interests include ultrasonic and elasticity imaging and instrumentation. She has pioneered the development and clinical translation of acoustic radiation force based elasticity imaging techniques. She is the author of over 75 peer-reviewed journal articles in the areas of ultrasound and elasticity imaging, and has been awarded 9 patents. She has been a recipient of the Klein Family Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Marion Capers Distinguished Research and Teaching Award at Duke University. She has served on numerous NIH and DOD review panels and is currently a charter member of the BMIT-B NIH study section. She is an Associate Editor for Ultrasonic Imaging, a senior member of IEEE, and a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.

Host: Professor Qifa Zhou

Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta