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CVIT is heading to ATS 2023 International Conference in Washington, DC
Two Center for Virtual Imaging Trials researchers will present their scientific works at the 2023 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) that will be held in Washington, DC 19-24 May. Amar Kavuri and Saman Sotoudeh-Paima will present their studies concerning the application of virtual imaging techniques for emphysema quantification and score in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Every year, the ATS International Conference registers the participation of nearly 14,000 pulmonary, critical care, and sleep professionals from around the word. The application to pulmonary diseases is one of the many potential translational opportunities that virtual imaging techniques offer in the medical field. In particular, Saman Sotoudeh-Paima study exploits virtual imaging datasets to inform artificial intelligence algorithms assessing emphysema score for COPD quantifications in CT. Amar Kavuri study won the ATS 2023 abstract scholarship and applies virtual imaging tools to assess the effects of intra-patient end-inspiration variability in emphysema quantification. Following are the details of the presentations. A. Kavuri, M. Nejad, S. Sotoudeh-Paima, H. P. McAdams, D. A. Lynch, P. W. Segars, E.Samei, E. Abadi; Effects of Intra-patient End-inspiration Variability in Emphysema Quantification: A Virtual Imaging Study. American Thoracic Society, 2023. https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2023.207.1_MeetingAbstracts.A4022 The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of lung respiration levels on emphysema quantification using a validated virtual imaging platform and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the current adjustment methods. Our results show 15% increased by 46 HU (95% CI:[36.4,56]) per 1L respiration volume deviation and LAA-950 reduced by 1.27% /1L (95% CI:[0.067,2.5] ) deviation. The physiologic based adjustment model reduced this variability more compared to the statistical one due to its basis on the individual patient and not population averages. This analysis helps in improving the lung volume correction methods and in reducing this variability for accurate estimation of the quantitative metrics. Sotoudeh-Paima, S., Nejad, M. G., Segars, W. P., O’Sullivan-Murphy, B., Macintyre, N. R., Lynch, D. A., Samei E., Abadi, E. Emphysema Score in CT for COPD Quantifications Using Artificial Intelligence Informed by Virtual Imaging Datasets. American Thoracic Society, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2023.207.1_MeetingAbstracts.A4021 Computed tomography (CT) is an in vivo diagnostic method that assesses the severity and extent of emphysema in the lungs. LAA-950 is a conventional imaging biomarker to quantify emphysema. While this biomarker has shown promising values in assessing disease severity, it is highly prone to variability in imaging protocols and scanner makes and models. The purpose of this work was to investigate a deep learning (DL)-based quantification approach that can characterize emphysema accurately while being robust to scanner variability. This approach would enable a more reliable comparison of emphysema quantifications in multi-center and longitudinal studies.
CVIT member Saman Sotoudeh-Paima received finalist for the Robert F. Wagner award at SPIE Medical Imaging conference
Last week, CVIT member Saman Sotoudeh-Paima received the Finalist for the Robert F. Wagner all-conference best student paper award at SPIE Medical Imaging conference held in San Diego, California. The SPIE medical imaging chapter is focused on the latest advances in image processing, physics, computer-aided diagnosis, perception, image guided procedures, biomedical applications, ultrasound, informatics, radiology and digital computational pathology. Saman, togethers with co-authors Dr. Ehsan Abadi and Dr. Ehsan Samei, presented a study about a new CT imaging harmonizer providing robust pulmonary emphysema quantifications and enabling objective disease characterizations in large-scale, multi-center, and longitudinal studies. In particular, pulmonary emphysema is a form of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and a chronic lung condition that results in a breakdown of alveoli walls. Quantitative Computed Tomography is increasingly used to assess the presence or progression of emphysema. However, CT quantifications are affected by the acquisition protocols and scanner makes and models. This variability is a major concern for cross-sectional and longitudinal disease characterizations with largescale, multi-institutional datasets. Therefore, CT images need to be harmonized to reflect the patient condition and not the attributes of the imaging systems. The proposed new framework, named CT-HARMONICA, was developed using a virtual imaging trial (VIT) platform at the Center for Virtual Imaging Trials. CT-HARMONICA transforms CT images to a reference quality index (iso resolution and noise conditions) enabling robust emphysema quantifications across varied CT conditions. The developed harmonizer was applied to clinical data from the COPDGene dataset to demonstrate its clinical utility. The established imaging biomarkers of LAA-950 and Perc15 were selected for emphysema quantifications. Results demonstrated that the harmonizer improved the quantification performance by reducing the bias in LAA-950 from 7.03 (CI: [6.38, 7.68]) to 0.14 (CI: [0.08, 0.20]) after matching for kernel and from 2.48 (CI: [2.21, 2.76]) to −0.34 (CI: [−0.48, −0.20]) after matching for noise settings on the COPDGene dataset. Saman is a second year Ph.D. student at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University. Currently, he is a Research Assistant at Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories (RAI Labs) and the Center of Virtual Imaging Trials (CVIT). His research is primarily focused on improving the accuracy and precision of CT quantification for COPD patients, mainly using image processing- and deep learning-based techniques.
Virtual Imaging Trials in Medicine – International Summit
Hosted at Duke University, this summit will gather leading experts, researchers, and practitioners in medical imaging and therapy for in silico virtual trials and digital twins in medicine.
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CVIT presentations at SPIE Medical Imaging 2023 in San Diego
Center for Virtual Imaging Trials members will present 5 abstracts at the SPIE Medical Imaging 2023 conference that will be held in San Diego (California) 19-23 February. In particular, the presented studies will cover different topics including photon counting CT, the application of virtual imaging trials for airway quantifications in CT, automatic quality control in CT volumes segmentation, and CT harmonization techniques. Following, is the list of the CVIT presentations: Cindy McCabe: A systematic assessment of photon-counting CT for bone mineral density and microarchitecture quantifications. February 20th, 10:30am, Town & Country A room. Fong Chi Ho: Development and Application of a Virtual Imaging Trial framework for Airway Quantifications via CT. February 22nd, 5:00pm, Town & Country A room. Lavsen Dahal: Automatic quality control in computed tomography volumes segmentation using a small set of XCAT as reference images. February 22nd, 06:00pm, Pacific A room. Saman Sotoudeh Paima: CT-HARMONICA: Physics-based CT Harmonization for Reliable Lung Density Quantification. February 23rd, 03:30pm, Town & Country C room. Mojtaba Zarei: Harmonizing CT Images via Physics-based Deep Neural Networks. February 23rd, 04:20pm, Town & Country A room. The SPIE medical imaging chapter (https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/medical-imaging) is focused on the latest advances in image processing, physics, computer-aided diagnosis, perception, image guided procedures, biomedical applications, ultrasound, informatics, radiology and digital computational pathology. Stay tuned to our social media for more details and to follow CVIT members during their presentations.
An in-depth tutorial for Virtual Clinical Trials at SPIE Medical Imaging conference
SPIE Medical Imaging Conference 2023 is offering a special course in Virtual Clinical Trials (VCTs), Sunday 19th February 8.30am -12.30pm, at the same venue of the conference, in San Diego (California). Course instructors are CVIT Faculty Dr. Ehsan Samei and Dr. Ehsan Abadi, and Dr. Andrew Maidment from Penn Medicine. The course will provide an essential introduction to virtual clinical trials, focused primarily on imaging. In particular, the covered topics include models of human anatomy and physiology, models of imaging processes primarily CT and breast imaging, models of interpretation processes, standardization of the VCT pipeline, and regulatory prospects of VCT. The course is of particular interest for professionals from academia, industry and government, interested in adopting or gaining knowledge of Virtual Clinical Trials methods. The participants will have the opportunity, also through examples, to learn about the role and place of VCT in imaging and in medicine, the main components and methods of a virtual trial, the constituent software components and the underlying statistical consideration for conducting VCTs. To learn more and to register click here.
CVIT contribution at RSNA 2022 Annual meeting
The Center for Virtual Imaging Trials is presenting 8 scientific contributions at RSNA 2022 annual meeting. With over 50,000 participants every year, the Radiology Society of North America annual meeting is the world’s largest medical imaging conference. It is being held in Chicago (IL) November 27 – December 1st, 2022. CVIT members are contributing with 3 posters, 4 talks, and a lecture covering several topics including photon counting CT, radiomics, and risk assessment in radiology. CVIT Director Dr. Ehsan Samei, will also deliver a lecture on virtual clinical trials representing a new paradigm of clinical evaluation and quantification in medicine. Stay tuned to our social media for more details and to follow CVIT members during their presentations.
Phantoms in Space
Two phantoms the Center helped with, Helga and Zohar, launched on NASA’s Artemis I rocket. The phantoms took a trip around the moon measuring radiation exposure as they traveled through space. The ultimate goal of the project is to explore the possibility of sending humans to Mars. Learn More
Stay up to date on the CVIT latest publications
CVIT website has a new section. Find more about our publications here. CVIT members constantly publish their research on very prominent journals in the field. Articles and conference proceedings are now listed on our website. It is possible to filter the publications by TRD and collaboration projects. The section also includes a list of featured publications in the field of virtual imaging trials.
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CVIT contribution at SPIE Medical Imaging 2022 conference: 18 scientific presentations and one special course.
The Center for Virtual Imaging Trials is presenting 18 scientific studies at SPIE Medical Imaging 2022 conference that will be held in San Diego (California) 20-24 February. The SPIE medical imaging chapter focuses on the latest advances in image processing