The objective of Laboratory for Imaging Research & Informatics (IRIS) is mainly toward the clinical goal of medical imaging research, as well as the basic research applications. We are especially interested in imaging the heart and brain, because heart disease is the number one killer across this nation and the brain is the center of body functions. In addition, we are exploring virtual endoscopy to navigate through the inner world of the body.

Our currently funded research projects are related to quantitative myocardial and cerebral perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and virtual colonoscopy (VC). The unique features of the former imaging modality are its ability of mapping the functional information about the heart and brain and its cost effectiveness. The later modality has the potential to be a cost-effective means of massive colon screening for early detection of colorectal cancer.

Other research areas include: (1) modeling the system response for high resolution positron emission tomography (PET, which is also a functional imaging modality), (2) automating tissue segmentation from multispectral magnetic resonance (MR) images, (3) searching for new sensor instrumentation and detection geometries, such as triple-photon coincidence imaging, and (4) investigating image manipulation strategies for efficient communication, such as image compression and visualization.

We view the goal of medical imaging research as following: (1) to invent new and improve currently existing sensor instrumentation to acquire better information about the targeted objects, (2) to optimize image formation so that the reconstructed image more accurately represents the actual structure or function map of the targeted object, (3) to extract reliably physiological and pathological information from the image features, and (4) to develop computer-aided algorithms to visualize and analyze the features for diagnosis and intervention.

The IRIS Lab research emphasizes the optimization of data acquisition, strategies of image formation and information communication. The detailed information can be found from the Lab Publications.

This lab is currently funded by NIH Grant NIH Grant R01-CA82402.

Other supports to this lab should be acknowledged: A two-year NIH Grant R21-CA79180; six-year NIH Grant R01-HL51466; three-year NIH Grant R01-NS33853; five-year NIH FIRST award; five-year Established Investigator Award of American Heart Association; one-year funding from Mediol.com Inc; two ITG grants of New York State Biotechnology Center at Stony Brook and a matching fund from E-Z-EM Inc; a clinical grant from ADAC Laboratories; a seed grant from Society of Thoracic Radiology; two student fellowships from Society of Nuclear Medicine; two student travel awards; and a term-faculty award from New York State.