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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Title: "Light, Sound, nanoActors: From the Science of Imaging and Nanotechnology to the Next Generation of Intelligent Medical Devices"
Abstract:
A quantitative morphological, functional and molecular imaging technique capable of visualizing biochemical, pharmacological and other processes in vivo and repetitively during stages of various pathologies (e.g., cancer or cardiovascular diseases) is desired for many fundamental, preclinical and clinical applications. This presentation will introduce high-resolution, high-sensitivity, depth-resolved ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging where ultrasound (US) is used to visualize the anatomical structures and photoacoustics (PA) is used to provide functional information about the tissue. Furthermore, nanometer scale imaging contrast agents to enable PA imaging to visualize cellular composition and molecular events within imaged tissue will be introduced. Our long-term goal is to translate ultrasound-guided photoacoustic (USPA) imaging to preclinical research and, ultimately, to clinical practice.
Several applications of in vivo USPA imaging ranging from the detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and cancer diagnosis to cell tracking to image-guided molecular and mechano-thermal therapy will be presented. The role of the imaging instrumentation and signal/image processing algorithms in these applications will be highlighted. Furthermore, the development of nanoconstructs with desired physical and biological properties will be discussed. Finally, quantitative imaging approaches will be presented. The presentation will conclude with discussion of current challenges and concerns associated with bionanotechnology and ultrasound/photoacoustic imaging for pre-clinical and clinical applications.
Speaker Biosketch:
Stanislav (Stas) Emelianov is a Cockrell Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, and an Adjunct Professor of Imaging Physics at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Emelianov received B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics and acoustics in 1986 and 1989, respectively, and a Ph.D. degree in physics in 1993 from Moscow State University, Russia. Since his arrival to Texas in 2002, Dr. Emelianov has formed the Ultrasound Imaging and Therapeutics Research Laboratory – home to research projects in medical imaging, therapeutics and bionanotechnology. Furthermore, Dr. Emelianov is co-Director of The University of Texas Center for Emerging Imaging Technologies focused on the translation of medical instrumentation, signal/image processing algorithms and imaging contrast/therapeutic agents to pre-clinical and clinical applications.
Dr. Emelianov’s research interests are in the areas of intelligent imaging and patient-specific therapeutics including cancer imaging and diagnosis, the detection and treatment of atherosclerosis, the development of imaging and therapeutic nanoagents, guided drug delivery and controlled release, simultaneous anatomical, functional, cellular and molecular imaging, multi-modal imaging, and image-guided therapy. Dr. Emelianov has published over 80 archival publications and over 150 refereed conference proceedings. Throughout his career, he has mentored and served on dissertation committees of more than 30 graduate students. Finally, Dr. Emelianov is active in several professional organizations including the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), The Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the Optical Society of America (OSA), and the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
