ECE 590 Topics in Bioengineering: Medical Imaging

Spring 2008

 

Credits 3

Wednesdays, 7:20 pm – 10:00 pm, Room: Krug Hall 209

 

 

Instructor:

            Siddhartha Sikdar, PhD

            Assistant Professor

            Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

            Volgenau School of IT&E

            Office: Science and Tech II, Room 207B

            Email: ssikdar@gmu.edu

            Phone: 703-993-1539

            Office hours: Wednesdays 2:00-4:00 pm and by appointment

 

 

Course description:

This course will provide an introduction to the physical, mathematical and engineering foundations of modern medical imaging instruments and image processing methods that enable us to ÒseeÓ inside the human body to diagnose disease, monitor treatment and perform minimally-invasive interventions. The emphasis will be on ultrasound and MRI imaging methods, although several other modalities will also be covered. The course will also provide an overview of recent developments in the field of medical imaging and discuss some of the challenges and controversies. The students will get hands on experience in applying the methods learnt in class to real-world problems. There will be broad scope to individually and collaboratively explore current problems in medical imaging.

 

Learning objectives:

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a strong grasp of the basic physical principles underlying several medical imaging modalities.
  2. Demonstrate a solid understanding of the concepts of medical image acquisition, image formation and display methods.
  3. Apply the concepts learnt in class to solve problems in medical image reconstruction, image processing and analysis.
  4. Demonstrate an appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of various imaging modalities and what kind of anatomical and physiological information can be obtained from them.

 

 

Prerequisites by topic:

1.       Elementary physics (PHYS 260 or equivalent)

2.       Familiarity with a programming language (C/C++ or MATLAB)

3.       Signal processing (ECE 410 or equivalent) or permission of instructor.

 

Overview of Course Topics:

1. Medical imaging systems:

         a. Data acquisition, sampling, reconstruction, visualization.

         b. Image manipulation and transformation.

         c. Image quality: spatial and temporal resolution, signal to noise, contrast.

 2. Physics of medical imaging modalities:

         a. Principles of ultrasound imaging, acoustic waves, transducers, steering and focusing, Doppler.

         b. Principles of X-ray imaging, radiation, attenuation, scattering, detection.

         c. Principles of magnetic resonance imaging: spin physics, signal equations, image acquisition, k-space.

         d. Nuclear imaging methods.

3. Medical image processing and analysis:

         a. Computed Tomography: Fourier slice theorem, filtered backprojection.

         b. 2D, 3D and 4D imaging.

         c. Image enhancement

         d. Image segmentation

         e. Computer-aided diagnosis

 4. Clinical considerations:

         a. Patient safety

         b. Workflow and informatics

 

Resources:

 

Course home page:

The course material distribution, assignments grading, announcements and discussion boards will be managed using BlackBoard CE6. To access the course home page, log in using your email ID and password on http://courses.gmu.edu. If you have difficulties using this system, please speak with the instructor and appropriate accommodations will be considered.

 

Required readings:

The course handouts will be the basis of material covered in lectures. Additional reading and reference material wherever appropriate will be distributed to students periodically.

 

Textbooks (optional):

  1. Fundamentals of Medical Imaging- Paul Suetens, Cambridge University Press; 2002.
  2. Medical Imaging Physics- William R. Hendee, E. Russel Ritenour. Wiley-Liss Inc; 4th Edition, 2002.
  3. Medical Image Analysis- Atam Dhawan. Wiley-IEEE Press; 2003.

 

For additional reference:

 

Handbook of Medical Imaging: Processing and Analysis- Isaac N. Bankman. Academic Press; 2000.

 

 

Course structure: 

The course will consist of weekly lectures, homework assignments, two exams, a critical review paper and a final presentation (details below). The exams will be closed book and closed notes.

 

Grade:

Midterm exam                                                 25%

Final exam                                                       25%

Homework                                                      20%

Critical review paper                                       20%

Final presentation                                            10%

 

Critical review paper:

At the end of the semester, students will be expected to submit a critical paper on a particular topic in medical imaging. Students should select a topic, discuss with the instructor, and get approval within the first five weeks of class. Students can select one of the following approaches:

 

1) Review a specific algorithm or technology for medical image formation, processing or analysis, demonstrate its uses, compare against alternative approaches, and suggest avenues for improvement.

2) Explore new medical imaging applications for a specific organ or disease by identifying the clinical need, comparing the applicability of various imaging methods, and critically reviewing the latest research directions.

3) Implement a solution to a specific medical imaging problem using one or more image processing or image analysis algorithms. The review paper needs to describe clearly why you chose the specific algorithms and what alternatives you considered, what challenges were faced in trying to solve the problem and how you overcame them.

 

Students with similar interests can choose to work together and present a joint in-depth paper (the contribution of each student should be clearly noted). A list of literature sources should be submitted to the instructor for approval by the ninth week of class.

 

Final presentation:

At the end of the semester, students will be expected to make a 20-min presentation (with slides) on their critical review paper. Your classmates will grade the final presentation. Grades will be based on: content, depth of analysis, clarity of explanation, knowledge of the subject and background, consistency, quality of presentation.

 

Homework:

There will be assigned homeworks throughout the semester. These homeworks will involve processing and analysis of real medical images, and could involve some programming in C/C++ or MATLAB (depending on the studentÕs preference). Homeworks are due before class one week from the assigned date. Homework submitted late will be penalized (15% penalty for each day). No homework will be accepted after two weeks.

5 points of the homework grade is reserved for class participation. One student will be assigned each week on a rotating basis to take the lead on compiling a summary of the discussions in class. The student should compare notes with other students and post their summary on the discussion board on the class home page. These summaries should be used as a supplement to the lecture slides in preparing for examinations. The class participation grade will be based on the quality of these discussion summaries.

 

Exams:

The midterm and final exams will be closed book and notes. They will consist of essay-type as well as multiple-choice questions. Absence from exams must be notified ahead of time and alternative arrangements made with the instructor. 

 

Academic Honesty and Collaboration:

The integrity of the University community is affected by the individual choices made by each of us. GMU has an Honor Code with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity.  Three fundamental and rather simple principles to follow at all times are that:  (1) all work submitted be your own; (2) when using the work or ideas of others, including fellow students, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification.  No grade is important enough to justify academic misconduct. 

With collaborative work, names of all the participants should appear on the work.  Collaborative projects may be divided up so that individual group members complete portions of the whole, provided that group members take sufficient steps to ensure that the pieces conceptually fit together in the end product.  Other projects are designed to be undertaken independently.  In the latter case, you may discuss your ideas with others and conference with peers; however, it is not appropriate to give your work to someone else to review.  You are responsible for making certain that there is no question that the work you hand in is your own.  If only your name appears on an assignment, your professor has the right to expect that you have done the work yourself, fully and independently.

Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without giving the person credit.  Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes.    Paraphrased material must also be properly cited.  A simple listing of books or articles is not sufficient.  Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in the academic setting.  If you have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism, please see the instructor. 

 

Relevant Campus and Academic Resources

Disability Services

            Any student with documented learning disabilities or other conditions that may affect academic performance should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 222; 993-2474; www.gmu.edu/student/drc) to determine the accommodations you might need; and 2) talk with the instructor to discuss reasonable accommodations.

Office of Diversity Programs and Services

            SUB 1, Rm. 345; 993-2700; www.gmu.edu/student/msaf/index.html

Writing Center

            Robinson A116; 993-1200; writingcenter.gmu.edu.

           


 

Syllabus

 

Week

Date

Topic

Important deadlines

1

1/23/08

Introduction. What is medical imaging? Classification of imaging modalities.

 

2

1/30/08

Review of relevant digital signal processing concepts:

Linear systems, sampling theory, filtering, interpolation, Fourier transforms.

 

3

2/06/08

Medical imaging systems:

Image acquisition, reconstruction, resampling, manipulation, visualization, decision making.

 

4

2/13/08

Comparison of imaging systems: signal to noise, contrast, spatial and temporal resolution.

Radiology workflow, image informatics.

 

5

2/20/08

Physical principles of ultrasound imaging.

Paper topic approval due

6

2/27/08

Ultrasound transducers, steering, focusing.

Ultrasound signal and image processing. 2D, 3D and 4D imaging.

 

7

3/5/08

Principles of Doppler ultrasound. Demonstration.

 

8

3/19/08

Mid term exam

 

9

3/26/08

Physical principles of magnetic resonance imaging.

 

List of literature sources due

10

4/02/08

MRI signal, data acquisition, image contrast. Image formation and k-space. 3D imaging.

 

11

4/09/08

Physical principles of X-ray and nuclear imaging. Contrast imaging.

 

12

4/16/08

Computed Tomography image reconstruction. Fourier slice theorem, filtered backprojection. 2D, 3D and 4D imaging.

 

13

4/23/08

Introduction to image analysis: segmentation, manual and automated image analysis.

 

14

4/30/08

Topics in image analysis, computer-aided detection. Patient safety considerations. Review and course wrap up.

 

15

5/07/08

Final presentations.

Critical review paper due.

16

5/14/08

Final exam.