Laboratory for Imaging Research and Informatics
Laboratory for Imaging Research and Informatics (IRIS) is
affiliated with the Departments of
Radiology within the School of Medicine
(SOM) and
Computer Science
within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
(CEAS) of SUNY at Stony Brook
(SUNY),
as well as the Program in Biomedical Engineering
(PIBE)
of SUNY at Stony Brook. The laboratory conducts various
researches which can be categorized broadly into applied
science or relative narrowly into image science.
Applied science encompasses the middle ground between basic
science and engineering technology, where a definite practical
end is in mind, and where the approach may lead to new
discoveries in pure science as well. Image science explores
the nature via visualization. It can be pure science in
exploring molecular sequences or cell functions in biology
and physiology or technical means in detecting lesions in the
brain and heart.
What is the Goal of Medical Imaging Research?
Medical imaging visualizes the inner world of the human body
noninvasively. Its primary objective is to delineate the
structures and map the functions of organs and tissues, based
on the principles of physics, mathematics, engineering,
computer science, physiology and biology.
The ultimate goal of medical imaging research is to extract
the image features for physiological and pathological studies
of the organs and tissues utilizing the expertise of both
imaging scientists and research physicians. The basic
studies, for example, could be to film the sequence of embryo
development; to map the responses of the brain to visual,
auditory, olfactory and tactile stimuli; to visualize the
fluid dynamics in the myocardium; to screen the metabolism in
the liver; to profile the secretion process of the kidney;
or to quantify the targeted tumor response to administered
therapy.
The clinical goal of medical imaging research is to improve
the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis by cost-effective,
non-invasive, and patient-comfort means.
Why is Information Communication so Important?
The development of 3D digital modalities such as CT, MRI,
PET and SPECT and the replacement of film in 2D imaging
techniques by very high resolution detectors, such as
those found in digital mammography and digital chest X-ray
systems, have led to an explosion of the quantity of
digital data that must be stored, transmitted and processed
in a modern radiology department. That the data are in
digital form has distinct advantages. The sheer management
of this immense volume of information is best accomplished
by computerized systems. For example the images, once in
digital form, may be manipulated by elaborate computer
graphics and display systems to screen 3D renderings such
as those in CT and MR images for reconstructive surgery of
the skull and others, as well as for 3D anthropometry and
virtual navigation of organs (e.g., Virtual Endoscopy).
A more general term can be visual computing.
Perhaps most importantly, these digital images can be
transmitted at very high speeds to faraway sites for remote
diagnosis or online digital collaboration by physicians
separated by a great distance. This capability, made
possible by recent advances in high-speed digital
communication technology, is in the process of
revolutionizing the way that clinical radiology will be
conducted, named as telemedicine and teleradiology.