Systems and methods for generating images for identifying diseases are provided. In one embodiment, a method comprises receiving a first digital radiography (DR) image of at least a portion of a body of a patient, receiving a second DR image of the at least a portion of a body of a patient, the first DR image being captured at a different energy level than the second DR image, and determining common control point locations for both the first and second DR images. The method further comprises generating an optimized DR image by moving portions of a selected one of the first and second DR images with its associated control points to locations that correspond to similar portions of the other of the first and second DR images, applying deformable transformation to one of the first and second DR images and performing a log subtraction on the first and second DR image to generate a dual-energy digital radiography (DEDR) image. – Dec. 2011

Fei B, Gilkeson R, “Systems and methods for generating images for identifying diseases”, United States Patent , No. 8,073,230 Full Text

Emory University Winship Cancer Institute (Emory WCI) Head and Neck Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) is funded by the NIH/NCI. The overall goal of the Emory WCI HNC SPORE is to improve prevention and treatment of head and neck cancer with emphasis on new discoveries, rapid translation to patients who are suffering, disability and morbidity caused by the disease. In this Developmental Research Project, Dr. Fei will collaborate with Drs. Georgia Chen, Dong Shin, and Ronald Voll and develop molecular imaging technology and photodynamic therapy for treatment of head and neck cancer in animal models.

Prostate cancer affects 1 in 6 men in the USA. Every man over the age of 45 is at risk for prostate cancer. Systematic transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy is the standard method for a definitive diagnosis of prostate cancer. More than 1.2 million prostate biopsies are performed annually and the medical cost is more than two billion dollars each year. However, this technique has a significant sampling error and is characterized by low sensitivity (39-52%). The current biopsy approach can miss up to 30% of prostate cancers. As a negative biopsy does not preclude the possibility of a missed cancer, both the physicians and patients face challenges in making treatment decisions. Due to the increasing number of younger men with potentially early and curable prostate cancer, this problem must be addressed in order to improve cancer detection rate. This project is to develop a molecular image-directed, 3D ultrasound-guided system for targeted biopsy of the prostate. If completely developed, the multimodality molecular image-guided system will be able to be used not only for biopsy but also for brachytherapy, radiofrequency thermal ablation, cryotherapy, and photodynamic therapy. The research could improve prostate cancer detection by using novel molecular imaging technology and by using a new three-dimensional image-guided biopsy device. The molecular image-guided system can be used not only for improved biopsy of diseases but also for minimally invasive therapy of cancers.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MR) shows details about the soft tissues of the body, such as every curve and indentation in the brain, while positron emission tomography (PET) records processes, such as how much energy is being used or how much blood is flowing into a region. When these imaging techniques were combined in the same scanner a few years ago, a real challenge since the MRI’s strong magnetic field and the PET’s detector and electronics tend to interfere with each other scientists started thinking about the potential wealth of information that could be provided.

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When Two is Better Than One: Perfecting the Combined MR/PET

At the 57th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) in Salt Lake City, Utah in June 2010, Dr. Baowei Fei received the Young Investigator Award for his research on Image Quantification and Attenuation Correction for Combined MRI/PET from the SNM. Dr. Fei received the 1st place award from the SNM Computer and Instrumentation Council. He and his co-colleagues have developed tools for image registration, classification, segmentation and attenuation correction for the potential use in combined MRI/PET. Other colleagues who contributed to this work include Mr. X. Yang, Dr. J. Nye, Ms. M. Jones, Dr. J. Aarsvold, Ms. N. Raghunath, Dr. C. Meltzer and Dr. J. Votaw.