Imaging

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Imaging research applies concepts and methods from electrical, computer, and software engineering, physics, computer science, and related disciplines to advance the capabilities of medical imaging to diagnose disease, plan and monitor treatments, and guide surgical interventions.  Imaging is one of Western’s signature research areas; the university houses more than $60 million worth of state-of-the-art imaging systems dedicated to research, including systems for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), x-ray imaging and computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, optical imaging, and Canada’s first whole-body hybrid MRI/PET (positron emission tomography) scanner.  Active topics in imaging research include:

  1. Development of image processing algorithms and software with an emerging emphasis on applications of machine learning to medical image analysis.
  2. Development of hardware, software, and virtual reality displays for image-guided interventions using MRI, x-ray CT, and ultrasound in applications such as cancer biopsy and brachytherapy and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
  3. Design of MRI pulse sequences and radio-frequency coils for applications such as neuroimaging, cardiac imaging, cancer imaging, and respiratory imaging.
  4. Development of methods and systems for quantitative perfusion imaging using MRI, x-ray CT, ultrasound, photoacoustics, and near-infrared imaging for applications such as cancer imaging, musculoskeletal disease, heart failure, and stroke.

BME’s imaging researchers are affiliated with Western’s Biomedical Imaging Research Centre and Brain and Mind Institute as well as the multi-investigator imaging laboratories at Robarts Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute.

Faculty members

Corey Baron
Jeffrey J.L. Carson
Elvis Chen
Sandrine de Ribaupierre
Mamadou Diop
Maria Dragnova
Emma Duerden
Roy Eagleson
Aaron Fenster
Kathleen Hill
David W. Holdsworth
Ali Khan
James Lacefield
Hanif Ladak
Shuo Li
Charles McKenzie
Ravi Menon
Grace Parraga
Terry Peters
Tami Poepping
Abbas Samani
Jagath Samarabandu
Aaron So
Matthew Teeter
Aaron Ward