Prof. Bell was invited to give a seminar to the ECE Department at the University of Maryland, College Park on December 4, 2019. The seminar was entitled, Listening to the Sound of Light to Guide Surgeries.
Arun Nair Wins Best Paper Award
Congratulations to Arun Nair! He thought outside of the box and used the same beamforming principles implemented in our ultrasound projects during his summer internship at Snap, Inc. in New York City, NY, resulting in a best paper award at the 27th ACM International Conference on Multimedia in Nice, France.
IEEE IUS 2019 Recap
The PULSE Lab recently returned from an inspiring and memorable 2019 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), which took place in Glasgow, Scotland this year.
The following highlights from our trip include a series of oral and poster presentations, contributions to a panel discussion with legendary photoacoustic experts, and a wonderful dose of Scottish cultural immersion during the Gala Dinner at Merchant Square:
- Alycen Wiacek presented “CohereNet: A Deep Learning Approach to Coherence-Based Beamforming”
- Arun Nair presented “One-Step Deep Learning Approach to Ultrasound Image Formation and Image Segmentation with a Fully Convolutional Neural Network”
- Eduardo González presented “GPU Implementation of Coherence-Based Photoacoustic Beamforming for Autonomous Visual Servoing”
- Michelle Graham presented “Simulations and experimental assessment of optimal receiver locations for Photoacoustic image guidance during minimally invasive neurosurgeries”
- Prof. Bell contributed her perspectives on surgery and deep learning applications for photoacoustic imaging in a one-of-a-kind panel discussion with an international swath of photoacoustic pioneers, including Paul Beard from University College London, Lihong Wang from California Institute of Technology, Stanislav Emelianov from Georgia Institute of Technology, and Matthew O’Donnell from University of Washington. The discussion was moderated by Michael Kolios from Ryerson University.
Thanks to Kelsey Kubick from Georgia Institute of Technology and Eno Hysi from Ryerson University for providing pictures of the panel discussion!
Prof. Bell Visits MIT
Prof. Bell visited MIT this week to participate in the Rising Stars in Biomedical program and to present her research, Listening to the Sound of Light to Guide Surgeries. She was invited and hosted by Prof. Polina Golland.
Journal Paper Accepted to IEEE TMI
A large collaborative effort between PULSE Lab members and collaborators at the School of Medicine culminated with a journal paper that was recently accepted to IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. The paper is entitled, In vivo demonstration of photoacoustic image guidance and robotic visual servoing for cardiac catheter-based interventions.
This work is the first known in vivo demonstration of any type of cardiac photoacoustic application, including an in vivo example that pairs robotic assistance with photoacoustic image guidance to find and constantly visualize cardiac catheter tips. We also show the first known photoacoustic images of cardiac catheter tips within an in vivo heart. These catheter tips were visualized at depths as large as 9 cm from the chest wall with photoacoustic imaging in cases where ultrasound imaging failed (due to the similar echogenicity of catheter tips and nearby cardiac tissue). Results show promise toward reducing the use of fluoroscopy during cardiac catheter-based interventions, which is desirable because fluoroscopy exposes both patients and operators to harmful ionizing radiation.
Citation: Graham M, Assis F, Allman D, Wiacek A, González E, Gubbi M, Dong J, Hou H, Beck S, Chrispin J, Bell MAL, In vivo demonstration of photoacoustic image guidance and robotic visual servoing for cardiac catheter-based interventions, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging (accepted) [pdf]
REU Abstract Accepted to BMES
Congratulations to Kendra Washington, our summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) student and Leadership Alliance Scholar from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her first-author abstract to the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) meeting was accepted as as part of the Undergraduate Research & Design track. She will present in the Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation session.
Title:
Effect of Raw Ultrasound Data Downsampling on Small Cyst Segmentation with Deep Neural Networks
Authors:
Kendra Washington, Arun Nair, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
Eduardo González Receives Student Travel Award to IEEE IUS 2019
PULSE Lab grad student Eduardo González was selected by the IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Organization Committee to receive a Student Travel Award to attend the 2019 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium taking place October 6-9, 2019 at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland. Eduardo will give an oral presentation on his work entitled GPU implementation of coherence-based photoacoustic beamforming for autonomous visual servoing of a needle tip. Congratulations Eduardo!
Paper Accepted to Journal of Biomedical Optics
Congratulations to Kelley Kempski! Her first author paper entitled, In vivo photoacoustic imaging of major blood vessels in the pancreas and liver during surgery, was accepted to the Journal of Biomedical Optics. This work is the first to demonstrate in vivo blood vessel visualization with possible applications to a range of photoacoustic-guided pancreatic and liver surgeries.
Special thanks to Alycen Wiacek, who mentored Kelley on this project in her role as Kelley’s graduate student mentor through the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Computational Sensing and Medical Robotics (CSMR) summer program. This program was recently renewed with 3 more years of funding support from the National Science Foundation.
Citation: Kempski K, Wiacek A, Graham M, González E, Goodson B, Allman D, Palmer J, Hou H, Beck S, He J, Bell MAL, In vivo photoacoustic imaging of major blood vessels in the pancreas and liver during surgery, Journal of Biomedical Optics, 24(12):121905, 2019 [pdf]
Related News:
Kelley Kempski Wins Best Presentation Award
SPIE Photonics West 2019 Recap
Prof. Bell Elected as Senior Member of SPIE
SPIE Senior Members are members of distinction honored for their professional experience, active involvement with the optics community and SPIE, and significant performance that sets them apart from peers. Prof. Muyinatu Bell was one of 106 members elected to join this list of distinguished individuals this year.
BMES Abstract Accepted as Oral Presentation
Congratulations to Alycen Wiacek. Her first-author abstract to the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) meeting was accepted as an oral presentation!
Title:
Coherence-Based Beamforming to Improve the Diagnostic Power of Breast Ultrasound Imaging
Authors:
Alycen Wiacek, Eniola Oluyemi, Kelly Myers, Susan Harvey, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
Prof. Bell Invited to Speak at AAPM in San Antonio, TX
Prof. Muyinatu Bell will present an invited talk on in the Advanced Ultrasound Imaging in Clinical Applications session at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) annual meeting in San Antonio, TX, July 14-18, 2019. The title of her talk is Novel Ultrasound Imaging Methods to Distinguish Cancer and Improve Surgery. A recording of this talk will be available after the conference.
Prof. Bell to Deliver Keynote Presentation at Medical Imaging with Deep Learning Conference in London, UK
Prof. Muyinatu Bell will travel to London, UK to deliver a keynote presentation at the International Conference on Medical Imaging with Deep Learning, taking place July 8-10, 2019 at Imperial College’s South Kensington Campus. Her talk, entitled Ultrasound Image Formation in the Deep Learning Age, will take place on Day 2 of the conference (Tuesday, July 9) and will be live streamed on YouTube.
Four Abstracts Accepted to IEEE IUS 2019
Four PULSE Lab abstracts were accepted for presentation during the 2019 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) to be held on October 6-9, 2019, at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland.
- CohereNet: A deep learning approach to coherence-based beamforming to be presented by Alycen Wiacek in the session entitled Deep Learning Beamformers on Monday, October 7, 4:00-4:15pm
- GPU implementation of coherence-based photoacoustic beamforming for autonomous visual servoing of a needle tip to be presented by Eduardo Gonzalez in the session entitled Hardware Acceleration on Monday October 7, 11:00-11:15am
- Simulation and experimental assessment of optimal receiver locations for photoacoustic image guidance during minimally invasive neurosurgeries to be presented by Michelle Graham in the session entitled Machine Learning and Image Reconstruction Approaches in Photoacoustics on Monday, October 7, 9:30am-4:00pm
- One-Step Deep Learning Approach to Ultrasound Image Formation and Image Segmentation with a Generative Adversarial Network to be presented by Arun Nair in the session entitled Image Fusion and Registration on Tuesday, October 8, 9:30am-4:00pm
Congrats to Alycen, Eduardo, Michelle, and Arun!
Symposium website: https://attend.ieee.org/ius-2019/
Welcome to Our Summer Research Students
The PULSE Lab welcomes two undergraduate students and one BME Master’s degree student who will be working with us this summer:
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Biomedical Engineering major with a minor in Computer Science
- Leadership Alliance Scholar
- Johns Hopkins University
- Biomedical Engineering major
- NSF-funded REU student
Each student will be working with us for 10 weeks or more on various projects in the areas of ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging. Welcome Kendra, Jessica, and Justina!
Prof. Bell Wins ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
Congratulations to Prof. Bell, who was selected to receive a competitive ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, which is designed to help ORAU member institutions retain their best young faculty members. This award will provide seed funding for the project entitled, Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging of Hypoechoic Breast Masses, which focuses on development and patient testing of a novel beamforming method developed in the PULSE Lab to differentiate fluid-filled masses from solid breast masses with greater certainty than the current ultrasound beamforming methods used in breast clinics today. Fluid-filled masses are often benign, but with current uncertainty rates, many fluid-filled masses undergo the same costly, time-consuming, and anxiety-provoking diagnostic work-ups as malignant masses, which are often solid.
The long-term goal of this research is to improve breast cancer screening and detection for the benefit of patients and for the redistribution of more healthcare system resources to cancer patients who need them most.
Related Highlights:
- The PULSE Lab recently published supporting preliminary data related to this work in the journal IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control.
- A summary of this journal paper is available here.
- PULSE Lab graduate student Alycen Wiacek, first author of the above journal paper, recently won the Whiting School of Engineering Research Trainee Award for this work.
- This work is currently featured in the Spring 2019 Issue of Duke BME Magazine.
Prof. Bell featured in Duke BME Magazine
Prof. Bell was featured in the Spring 2019 issue of the Duke Biomedical Engineering (BME) Magazine.
Photo Credit: Justin Tsucalas
IEEE T-UFFC Special Issue on Deep Learning
Prof. Bell is guest editing a the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (T-UFFC) Special Issue on Deep learning in medical ultrasound – from image formation to image analysis.
Contributions are sought from authors who are engaged in theoretical studies and developments on deep learning in medical ultrasound, as well as related applications, including, but not limited to:
- Beamforming
- Compressed sensing
- Super-resolution, such as localization microscopy and microvascular imaging
- Doppler
- Photoacoustics
- Elasticity imaging
- Image restoration and enhancement
- Image segmentation and classification
- Diagnostics
Kelley Kempski Wins NSF GRFP Fellowship
Kelley Kempski, an undergraduate researcher in the PULSE Lab during Summer 2018 and winner of the NSF CSMR REU Best Presentation Award, received one of the highly competitive NSF GRFP Fellowships. We are excited to welcome Kelley back to our lab this fall! Kelley was admitted into the Johns Hopkins BME PhD program, and we are thrilled that she has chosen to pursue her graduate studies with us.
Muyinatu Bell named Maryland’s Outstanding Young Engineer
Congratulations to Prof. Bell who was named as Maryland’s Outstanding Young Engineer by the Maryland Academy of Sciences and the Maryland Science Center. This award recognizes, encourages, and increases public awareness of the important work and accomplishments of young engineers, age 35 and under, residing in the state of Maryland. Important factors in the final decision are the recipient’s contributions to the advancement of his or her field of research, the possibility that this work could become a game changer, and the prospect of the recipient to rise to national and international prominence in the next 5-10 years.
Prof. Bell is recognized for her pioneering and innovative contributions to the field of photoacoustic-guided surgery. These innovations include novel light delivery systems that attach to surgical tools, coherence-based and deep learning beamforming techniques to clarify images, and integration of photoacoustic imaging systems with surgical and interventional robots. The award is accompanied by the Allan C. Davis medal and a cash prize.
Maryland Science Center Press Release
Whiting School of Engineering Announcement
Prof. Bell Featured on The Success Journey Show
Dr. Bell made a guest appearance on The Success Journey Show, a podcast series designed to travel with hosts Ricky Venters and Marlon Madden through the lives of individuals on their road to success.
Alycen Wins Whiting School of Engineering Research Trainee Award
Congratulations to Alycen Wiacek! She won the Whiting School of Engineering Trainee Award at the DOM/WSE Hopkins Research Retreat, a joint retreat with the Department of Medicine (DOM) and Whiting School of Engineering (WSE), which took place on Friday, March 1, 2019 at the School of Medicine’s East Baltimore Campus. This award highlights one graduate student or postdoc within the WSE who submits a written statement clearly explaining the broad significance of his or her research to engineering, the major research hypothesis or question, the research approach and findings, and the relationship between this research and the applicant’s early career goals. Alycen presented her work on Coherence-Based Beamforming to Improve the Diagnostic Power of Breast Ultrasound Imaging. She was one of five finalists from multiple engineering departments across WSE.
Prof. Efie Kokkoli from the JHU Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering announced and presented Alycen with the award, which includes a $500 prize.
Also at the retreat, the PULSE Lab was recognized as one of three finalists for the WSE Lab Excellence Award. The lab was well represented with excellent poster presentations by Alycen, Eduardo, and Derek:
Prof. Bell Named 2019 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow
Congratulations to Prof. Muyinatu Bell who was selected by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as a 2019 Sloan Research Fellow in Physics. The Sloan Research Fellowships are provided to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. These two-year fellowships are awarded in recognition of distinguished performance and the unique potential of recipients to make substantial contributions to their field. A total of 126 Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually with only 23 awarded in Physics this year.
“Sloan Research Fellows are the best young scientists working today,” says Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “Sloan Fellows stand out for their creativity, for their hard work, for the importance of the issues they tackle, and the energy and innovation with which they tackle them. To be a Sloan Fellow is to be in the vanguard of twenty-first century science.”
The 2019 Sloan Research Fellows each receive a two-year fellowship in the amount of $70,000 to further their research.
Sloan Foundation Press Release
SPIE Photonics West 2019 Recap
The PULSE Lab just returned from a rousing and invigorating SPIE Photonics West conference in San Francisco, CA, which took place February 2-7, 2019 (see more details below photos).
PULSE Lab attendees presented a combined total of six oral and poster presentations:
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Kelley Kempski gave an oral presentation entitled “In vivo demonstration of photoacoustic-guided liver surgery”
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Michelle Graham gave an oral presentation entitled “Simultaneous visualization of nerves and blood vessels with multispectral photoacoustic imaging for intraoperative guidance of neurosurgeries”
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Derek Allman presented his poster “A deep learning-based approach to identify in vivo catheter tips during photoacoustic-guided cardiac interventions”
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Alycen Wiacek presented her poster “Techniques to distinguish the ureter from the uterine artery in photoacoustic-guided hysterectomies”
- Eduardo González presented his poster “Visualization of custom drill bit tips in a human vertebra for photoacoustic-guided spinal fusion surgeries”
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Dr. Bell gave an oral presentation entitled “Deep Learning the Sound of Light to Guide Surgeries” (photo unavailable). She also served as session chair and as a member of the Technical Program Committee of Advanced Biomedical and Clinical Diagnostic and Surgical Guidance Systems XVII.
This work was presented in the following two tracks within the BiOS Conference:
- Advanced Biomedical and Clinical Diagnostic and Surgical Guidance Systems XVII: https://spie.org/PWB/conferencedetails/advanced-biomedical-and-clinical-systems
- Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing: https://spie.org/PWB/conferencedetails/photons-plus-ultrasound
Photonics West BiOS Conference website: https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/photonics-west/bios
PULSE Lab Fun at ECE Department Holiday Party
The PULSE Lab spreads holiday cheer at our annual ECE Department Holiday party.
left to right, frame 2: Eduardo, Derek, Alycen, Prof. Bell, Theron, Michelle Photo credit, frames 1 & 3: Monumental Moments PhotoBooth
Prof. Bell to Deliver Keynote Presentation at OSA-Sponsored Conference in Sydney, Australia
Prof. Muyinatu Bell will travel to Sydney, Australia to deliver an invited plenary talk and keynote presentation at the OSA-Sponsored IONS Conference on Optics, Atoms, and Laser Applications (KOALA), taking place December 4-8, 2018 at Macquarie University.
Our final plenary speaker at #IONSKOALA2018 was the incredible Prof Muyinatu Bell from @JohnsHopkins and @OpticalSociety who taught us all about #photoacoustic #imaging in #surgery. It was amazing! ? #STEM #conference #science #physics #medicine #biology #koala pic.twitter.com/FFSpeQ26Qb
— IONS KOALA 2018 (@IONSKOALA2018) December 6, 2018
Journal Paper Accepted to IEEE T-UFFC
Congratulations to Alycen Wiacek! Her first-author journal paper entitled “Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging of Breast Ultrasound Data: Initial Clinical Results” was accepted to the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control. This paper will appear in the Special Issue on Pilot Clinical Translation of New Medical Ultrasound Methodologies.
This work is the first to investigate the application of short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) imaging — and two new variations of this method developed in our lab (i.e., M-Weighted SLSC imaging and Robust SLSC imaging) — to breast ultrasound data. The two newer approaches revisit the lag summation step of SLSC imaging to achieve additional robustness to coherence outliers through weighted summation of individual coherence images (i.e., M-weighting) and through the application of robust principal component analysis (i.e., Robust SLSC, or R-SLSC).
An interesting finding from this initial investigation is that solid breast masses, which appear hypoechoic in traditional B-mode images, have similarly high coherence to that of surrounding tissue in these coherence-based images. This finding represents the first known instance of this phenomenon in hypoechoic ultrasound data from any type of tissue (including simulated, phantom, and in vivo liver data). This work shows great promise for implementing SLSC, M-Weighted SLSC, and/or R-SLSC imaging to distinguish between fluid-filled and solid hypoechoic breast masses, which has implications for improved breast cancer detection and screening, more streamlined diagnostic work ups, and reduced patient anxiety over suspicious breast mass findings.
Citation: A Wiacek, OMH Rindal, E Falomo, K Myers, K Fabrega-Foster, S Harvey, MAL Bell, Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging of Breast Ultrasound Data: Initial Clinical Results, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, accepted November 20, 2018 [pdf]
Also Available on Journal Website: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8548567
Prof. Bell Joins IEEE T-UFFC Editorial Board as an Associate Editor
Prof. Bell recently joined the Editorial Board of the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (T-UFFC) as an Associate Editor. The list and profiles of IEEE T-UFFC Associate Editors are maintained here.
ECE Distinguished Lecture Hosted by Prof. Bell
Monday, November 12, 2018
3:00 PM – Shafer, Room 301
*Reception hosted by ECE after seminar*
Recovering Lost Information in Analog-to-Digital Conversion
Presented by Professor Yonina Eldar
Department of Electrical Engineering at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa
Hosted By Muyinatu Bell
IEEE IUS 2018 Recap
The PULSE Lab just returned from Kobe, Japan, the location of the 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS).
Arun Nair presented his paper entitled “A fully convolutional neural network for beamforming ultrasound images“
Prof. Bell served on the 2018 IUS Organizing Committee as the Communications Chair. She received a certificate from the UFFC Society President, Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb. Prof. Bell is also the newly appointed Women in Engineering (WIE) Ultrasonics Representative, and she organized the first IEEE WIE Elevator Pitch Event at IUS.
Alycen Wiacek (photo unavailable) presented her paper entitled, “Clinical feasibility of coherence-based beamforming to distinguish solid from fluid hypoechoic breast masses”
Eduardo González (photo unavailable) presented his paper entitled, “Segmenting bone structures in ultrasound images with Locally Weighted SLSC (LW-SLSC) beamforming”
Arun Nair additionally collaborated to contribute to the paper entitled “The Ultrasound File Format (UFF)“
Journal Paper Published in Scientific Reports
Our journal paper entitled Photoacoustic-based visual servoing of a needle tip was accepted for publication in Scientific Reports. Check out this video for a demonstration of our robotic photoacoustic assistant!
Citation: Bell MAL, Shubert J, Photoacoustic-based visual servoing of a needle tip, Scientific Reports, 8:15519, 2018 [pdf]
Journal Paper Accepted to Biomedical Optics Express
Our journal paper entitled Additive noise models for photoacoustic spatial coherence theory was accepted for publication in Biomedical Optics Express. This paper introduces two noise models for photoacoustic spatial coherence theory that compare favorably with experimental measurements. It will appear in the journal’s feature issue Topics in Biomedical Optics from the OSA Biophotonics Congress 2018.
Citation: B Stephanian, MT Graham, H Hou, MAL Bell, Additive noise models for photoacoustic spatial coherence theory, Biomedical Optics Express, 9(11):5566-5582, 2018 [pdf]
Five Abstracts Accepted to SPIE Photonics West
Five PULSE Lab abstracts were accepted to SPIE Photonics West. This conference will take place February 2-7, 2019 at the The Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.
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Simultaneous visualization of nerves and blood vessels with multispectral photoacoustic imaging for intraoperative guidance of neurosurgeriesMichelle Graham, Joanna Guo, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
4 February 2019 • 11:30 – 11:50 AM
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Techniques to distinguish the ureter from the uterine artery in photoacoustic-guided hysterectomiesAlycen Wiacek, Karen Wang, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
5 February 2019 • 6:00 – 8:00 PM
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Visualization of custom drill bit tips in a human vertebra for photoacoustic-guided spinal fusion surgeriesEduardo Gonzalez, Alycen Wiacek, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
5 February 2019 • 6:00 – 8:00 PM
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In vivo demonstration of photoacoustic-guided liver surgeryKelley Kempski, Alycen Wiacek, Jasmin E. Palmer, Michelle Graham, Eduardo Gonzalez, Bria Goodson, Derek Allman, Huayu Hou, Sarah Beck, Jin He, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
5 February 2019 • 6:00 – 8:00 PM
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A deep learning-based approach to identify in vivo catheter tips for photoacoustic-guided cardiac interventionsDerek Allman, Fabrizio Assis, Jonathan Chrispin, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
5 February 2019 • 6:00 – 8:00 PM
This work spans two tracks within the BiOS Conference:
- Advanced Biomedical and Clinical Diagnostic and Surgical Guidance Systems XVII: https://spie.org/PWB/conferencedetails/advanced-biomedical-and-clinical-systems
- Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing: https://spie.org/PWB/conferencedetails/photons-plus-ultrasound
Photonics West BiOS Conference website: https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/photonics-west/bios
Alycen Passed the ECE Department Qualifying Exam
Congratulations to Alycen Wiacek on passing her ECE Department Qualifying Exam!
Welcome to Mardava Gubbi
The PULSE Lab welcomes Mardava Gubbi. Mardava received a dual degree (B. Tech & M. Tech) in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He will be matriculating as a PhD student in the ECE Department. Welcome Mardava!
Kelley Kempski Wins Best Presentation Award
Congratulations to PULSE Lab summer undergraduate student Kelley Kempski who won the best presentation award at the closing ceremonies for the NSF-funded REU program in Computational Sensing and Medical Robotics. Her presentation was entitled In Vivo Photoacoustic Image Guidance of Abdominal Surgery. Prof. Jerry Prince announced the award and congratulated Kelley on this great achievement.
Kelley’s award continues the 4-year winning streak of previous PULSE Lab winners and mentees of Prof. Bell in the NSF CSMR REU Program:
Special thanks to Kelley’s graduate student mentor, Alycen Wiacek.
Welcome to Theron Palmer
The PULSE Lab welcomes Theron Palmer. Theron received his B.S. degree in Bioengineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He will be matriculating as a student in the BME Department. Welcome Theron!
Prof. Bell Receives NIH Trailblazer Award
Prof. Bell received the NIH Trailblazer Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to support our project entitled, A Machine Learning Alternative to Beamforming to Improve Ultrasound Image Quality for Interventional Access to the Kidney. This project is motivated by the clinical challenges surrounding artifacts in ultrasound images, specifically artifacts caused by multipath scattering and acoustic reverberations (which occur when imaging through the abdominal tissue of overweight and obese patients or visualizing metallic surgical tools). There are no existing solutions to eliminate these artifacts based on today’s signal processing techniques. The goal of this project is to step away from conventional signal processing models and instead learn from raw ultrasound channel data examples with state-of-the-art deep learning techniques that differentiate artifacts from true signals to deliver a new class of clearer, easier-to-interpret ultrasound images that we call CNN-Based images. This work will be completed in collaboration with Austin Reiter, PhD and Kelvin Hong, MD.
Two of our pioneering publications in this area include:
- D Allman, A Reiter, MAL Bell, Photoacoustic source detection and reflection artifact removal enabled by deep learning, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 37(6):1464-1477, 2018 [pdf | datasets | code]
- AA Nair, T Tran, A Reiter, MAL Bell, A deep learning based alternative to beamforming ultrasound images, IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, April 15-20, 2018 [pdf]
- Additional related publications are featured here
This work has also been featured in the following articles and press releases:
- SWE Magazine (1/13/17): AI’s Forthcoming Transformation of Medicine
- JHU ECE Department News (3/12/18): Faculty Q&A: Muyinatu (Bisi) Bell
- Deep Learning in Healthcare Summit (5/25/17): Interview with Muyinatu Bell
We additionally have a pending patent for these ideas.
Whiting School of Engineering Announcement
Alycen Wiacek Receives Student Travel Award to IEEE IUS 2018
PULSE Lab grad student Alycen Wiacek was selected by the IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Organization Committee to receive a Student Travel Award to attend the 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium taking place October 22-25, 2018 at the Portopia Hotel, in Kobe, Japan. Alycen will give an oral presentation on her work entitled Clinical Feasibility of Coherence-Based Beamforming to Distinguish Solid from Fluid Hypoechoic Breast Masses. Congratulations Alycen!
Four Abstracts Accepted to IEEE IUS 2018
Four PULSE Lab abstracts were accepted for presentation during the 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) to be held on October 22-25, 2018, at the Portopia Hotel in Kobe, Japan.
- A fully convolutional neural network for beamforming ultrasound images to be presented by Arun Nair in the session entitled Deep Neural Networks for Ultrasound Image Formation at 2:15 PM to 2:30 PM on Thursday, October 25 (label: 1J-4)
- Clinical feasibility of coherence-based beamforming to distinguish solid from fluid hypoechoic breast masses to be presented by Alycen Wiacek in the session entitled Beamforming for Other Applications from 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM on Thursday, October 25 (label: 4H-5)
- Segmenting bone structures in ultrasound images with Locally Weighted SLSC (LW-SLSC) beamforming to be presented by Eduardo Gonzalez in the session entitled Beamforming for Other Applications from 8:00 AM to 8:15 AM on Thursday, October 25 (label: 4H-1)
- Using deep neural networks to remove photoacoustic reflection artifacts in ex vivo tissue to be presented by Derek Allman in the session entitled All-Optical Photoacoustic Imaging and Computational Approaches on Tuesday, October 23 (label: P2-A6-4)
Congrats to Arun, Alycen, Eduardo, and Derek!
Symposium website: http://sites.ieee.org/ius-2018/
Journal Paper Accepted to Physics in Medicine and Biology
Our journal paper entitled Photoacoustic imaging of a human vertebra: implications for guiding spinal fusion surgeries was accepted for publication in Physics in Medicine and Biology. This paper will appear in the journal’s special issue Focus on Interventional Photoacoustic Imaging. The accepted version of the manuscript is currently accessible online (ahead of print).
Citation: J Shubert and MAL Bell, Photoacoustic imaging of a human vertebra: Implications for guiding spinal fusion surgeries, Physics in Medicine and Biology (accepted) [pdf]
Prof. Bell Receives JHU Discovery Award
JHU Office of Research Announcement
Derek Allman Wins 3rd Place Award as Member of the ECE FunRun Team
Congrats to PULSE Lab member Derek Allman (pictured on right) who helped the Hopkins ECE men’s team bring home the 3rd place award at this year’s Corporate FunRun!
Welcome to Summer Undergraduate Students Kelley, Jasmin, Bria, and Joanna
The PULSE Lab welcomes four undergraduate students who will be working with us this summer. They are pursuing undergraduate degrees from a mixture of universities around the country:
- University of Delaware (Newark, DE)
- Biomedical Engineering major
- NSF-funded REU student
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
- Mechanical Engineering major with a concentration in Controls, Instrumentation, and Robotics
- Leadership Alliance student
- Delta State University (Cleveland, MS)
- Pre-Med/Biology major
- McNair Scholar
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
- Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science double major
Each student will be working with us for 10 weeks or more throughout the summer on various projects in the area of photoacoustic-guided surgery. Welcome Kelley, Jasmin, Bria, and Joanna!!!
Prof. Bell selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
Prof. Bell is one of 84 “outstanding early career engineers” selected to meet for an intensive 2-1/2 day symposium to discuss cutting-edge developments in four engineering areas at the National Academy of Engineering’s 2018 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. This symposium will be hosted by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, September 5-7, 2018.
Our research is featured in Health Data Management News
Our recently published JMI paper, which reports our experiments describing the feasibility of photoacoustic-guided hysterectomies with a da Vinci robot, was described in an article written for Health Data Management News: Enhanced imaging could cut errors in robot-aided surgeries.
Prof. Bell Receives Secondary Appointment in CS Department
Effective May 1, 2018, Prof. Bell will receive a secondary appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at JHU.
Arun Presents A Deep Learning Based Alternative to Beamforming Ultrasound Images at IEEE ICASSP 2018
Congrats to Arun on the successful presentation of his research paper entitled “A Deep Learning Based Alternative to Beamforming Ultrasound Images” at IEEE ICASSP 2018 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This work is the first to propose deep learning as an alternative to the traditional ultrasound beamforming process and it was implemented for a single plane wave transmission. Check out our associated conference paper for more details!
Citation: Nair AA, Tran T, Reiter A, Bell MAL, A deep learning based alternative to beamforming ultrasound images, IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, April 15-20, 2018 [pdf]
Journal Paper Accepted to IEEE TMI
Congratulations to Derek Allman! His paper entitled “Photoacoustic Source Detection and Reflection Artifact Removal Enabled by Deep Learning” was accepted to the IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. This paper is expected to appear in the Special Issue on Machine Learning for Image Reconstruction.
This work is the first to use deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) as an alternative to the photoacoustic beamforming and image reconstruction process. We used simulations to train CNNs to identify sources and reflection artifacts in raw photoacoustic channel data, reformatted the network outputs to usable images that we call CNN-Based images, and transferred these trained networks to operate on experimental data. Multiple parameters were varied during training (e.g., channel noise, number of sources, number of artifacts, sound speed, signal amplitude, transducer model, lateral and axial locations of sources and artifacts, and spacing between sources and artifacts). The classification accuracy of simulation and experimental data ranged from 96-100% when the channel signal-to-noise ratio was -9 dB or greater and when sources were located in trained locations. Over 99% of the results had submillimeter location accuracy. Our CNN-Based images have high contrast, no artifacts, and resolution that rivals the traditional photoacoustic image resolution of low-frequency ultrasound probes.
Citation: D Allman, A Reiter, MAL Bell, Photoacoustic Source Detection and Reflection Artifact Removal Enabled by Deep Learning, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 37(6):1464-1477, 2018 [pdf | datasets | code]
Michelle Graham Receives NSF Fellowship
Prof. Bell will give CS Seminar on April 10
Prof. Bell will give a seminar to the JHU Computer Science Department on April 10th, 2018.
“Directing Light and Learning from Sound to Guide Surgeries”
Abstract
Just like programming a robot requires meticulous planning, coding, and execution, these same requirements are ever present when designing and controlling the individual optical and acoustic components of photoacoustic imaging systems. Photoacoustic imaging utilizes light and sound to make images by transmitting laser pulses that illuminate regions of interest, which subsequently absorb the light, causing thermal expansion and the generation of sound waves that are detected with conventional ultrasound transducers. The Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Systems Engineering (PULSE) Lab is developing novel methods that use photoacoustic imaging to guide surgeries with the ultimate goal of eliminating surgical complications caused by injury to important structures – like major blood vessels and nerves – that are otherwise hidden from a surgeon’s immediate view.
In this talk, I will describe our novel light delivery systems that attach to surgical tools in order to direct light toward the surgical site. I will also introduce how we learn from the physics of sound propagation in tissue to develop acoustic beamforming algorithms that improve image quality, using both state-of-the-art deep learning methods and our newly developed spatial coherence theory. These light delivery and acoustic beamforming methods hold promise for robotic tracking tasks, visualization and visual servoing of surgical tool tips, and assessment of relative distances between the surgical tool and nearby critical structures (e.g., major blood vessels and nerves that if injured will cause severe complications, paralysis, or patient death). Impacted surgeries and procedures include neurosurgery, spinal fusion surgery, hysterectomies, and biopsies.
Bio
Muyinatu Bell is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a joint appointment in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins University, where she founded and directs the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Systems Engineering (PULSE) Lab. Dr. Bell earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (biomedical engineering minor) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2006), received a Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University (2012), and conducted research abroad as a Whitaker International Fellow at the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital in the United Kingdom (2009-2010). Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Bell completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology at Johns Hopkins University (2016), where she was co-mentored by faculty in the Computer Science Department and the School of Medicine. Dr. Bell has published over 40 scientific journal articles and conference papers, holds a patent for short-lag spatial coherence beamforming, and is the recipient of numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2015), MIT Technology Review’s Innovator Under 35 Award (2016), and the NSF CAREER Award (2018).
[Watch seminar video / JHU login required]
Five PULSE Lab Abstracts Accepted to UITC 2018
PULSE Lab members will present the following five talks at the International Symposium on Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization, May 30 – June 1, 2018:
- Application of robust short-lag spatial coherence beamforming to breast ultrasound data, Alycen Wiacek, Ole Marius Hoel Rindal, Kelly Fabrega-Foster, Susan Harvey, Muyinatu
A. Lediju Bell, Johns Hopkins U. and U. Oslo - Implications of theoretical photoacoustic spatial covariance for short-lag spatial coherence imaging, Michelle T. Graham, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
- Deep learning alternative to beamforming ultrasound images, Arun Asokan Nair, Trac D. Tran, Austin Reiter, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
- Deep learning for photoacoustic source detection and reflection artifact removal, Derek M. Allman, Austin Reiter, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
- Comparative study of CT-US registration performance with DAS and SLSC ultrasound beamforming techniques, Eduardo Gonzalez, Michelle Graham, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
Symposium website: http://uitc-symposium.org/
March 12 BME Seminar Hosted by Prof. Bell
Christine P. Hendon, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
Columbia University
Monitoring and Guidance of Arrhythmia Therapy with Optical Imaging
Date: Monday, March 12, 2018
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: Clark 110, Homewood Campus
Video-teleconferenced to Traylor 709, East Baltimore Campus
Host: Dr. Muyinatu (Bisi) Bell
Our research is featured as an Editor’s Pick in BioOptics World
Our recently published JBO paper which reports on the application of photoacoustics for real-time surgical guidance with and without a da Vinci robot is featured as an Editor’s Pick in BioOptics World.
Paper Accepted to IEEE ICASSP
Congratulations to Arun Nair on the acceptance of his manuscript to the IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP).
Paper ID: 3434
Title: A DEEP LEARNING BASED ALTERNATIVE TO BEAMFORMING ULTRASOUND IMAGES
Session Title: ‘SAM Poster Session 4: Beamforming’
Authors: AA Nair, T Tran, A Reiter, MAL Bell
This conference will take place 15–20 April 2018.
Prof. Bell featured in SPIE Women in Optics Planner
Prof. Bell is featured in the 2018 Women in Optics Planner produced by SPIE. This planner includes photos and interesting facts about highlighted women to introduce girls and young women to the possibilities of STEM careers. Five thousand copies of the planner are printed and distributed, free of charge, in more than 25 countries worldwide annually. SPIE Members, career counselors, science teachers, and community clubs can request free copies of this planner.
Prof. Bell Receives NSF CAREER Award
Congratulations to Prof. Bell for being selected to receive the NSF CAREER Award. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. The objective of Prof. Bell’s proposal entitled CAREER: Technical & Theoretical Foundations for Photoacoustic-Guided Surgery is to apply optical analyses, spatial coherence theory, and independent resolution models to describe fundamental performance limits of photoacoustic-based navigation during robotic and nonrobotic surgery.
JMI Paper Accepted
Congrats to undergraduate student Margaret Allard on the acceptance of her first-author journal paper entitled Feasibility of photoacoustic-guided teleoperated hysterectomies. This paper will appear in the Journal of Medical Imaging (JMI) Special Section on Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling.
This paper is the first to describe the feasibility of photoacoustic integration with the da Vinci surgical robot to potentially guide minimally invasive hysterectomies and other gynecological surgeries. To implement photoacoustic imaging, a novel light delivery system was designed and implemented to surround da Vinci tools. This new light delivery system uniquely enabled the investigations described in the paper, including the first known analysis of the optimal tool orientations for photoacoustic-guided hysterectomies using a da Vinci scissor tool (which partially blocks the transmitted light in some cases). This work can be extended to other da Vinci tools and laparoscopic instruments with similar tip geometry.
Margaret completed this work through her participation in our NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates in Computational Sensing and Medical Robotics.
PULSE Lab Attends ECE Department Holiday Party
The PULSE Lab spreads holiday cheer at our annual ECE Department Holiday party. From left to right: Alycen, Arun, Prof. Bell, Michelle, Eduardo, and Derek.
Brooke Wins Second Place in Undergrad Poster Competition
Congratulations to PULSE Lab undergraduate student Brooke Stephanian on her 2nd place win in the Optics and Photonics Conference at JHU! She presented a poster that summarized the work she completed this semester on the topic “Theoretical Simulation to Optimize Short-Lag Spatial Coherence (SLSC) Photoacoustic Image Quality”.
Conference website: https://engineering.jhu.edu/ece/osa/hopkins-photonics-conference/
Journal Paper Accepted to IEEE T-UFFC
Congrats to Arun Nair on the acceptance of his paper entitled “Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging” to the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control. This paper will appear in the special issue on sparsity driven methods in medical ultrasound.
This work is the first to re-examine the lag summation step of the Short-Lag Spatial Coherence (SLSC) algorithm and achieve additional robustness to coherence outliers through both weighted summation of individual coherence images (i.e., M-weighting) and the application of robust principal component analysis (i.e., Robust SLSC, or R-SLSC). Results show great promise for smoothing out the tissue texture of SLSC images, improving boundary delineation, and enhancing anechoic or hypoechoic target visibility at higher lag values. These improvements could be useful in clinical tasks such as breast cyst visualization, liver vessel tracking, and obese patient imaging.
Citation: AA Nair, T Tran, MAL Bell, Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (accepted) [pdf]
Also Available on Journal Website: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8166807/
Two PULSE Lab abstracts accepted to OSA Optics and Photonics Conference at JHU
Congrats to undergraduate student Brooke Stephanian and PhD student Derek Allman! Their abstracts were accepted to the 2017 Optics and Photonics Conference at Johns Hopkins University.
Brooke will present a poster entitled: Theoretical Simulation to Optimize Short-Lag Spatial Coherence (SLSC) Photoacoustic Image Quality
Derek will give a presentation entitled: Using convolutional neural networks to eliminate reflection artifacts in experimental photoacoustic images
Conference details: https://engineering.jhu.edu/ece/osa/hopkins-photonics-conference/
Free registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/optics-and-photonics-conference-at-johns-hopkins-university-tickets-39142374897?aff=es2
PULSE Lab Wins ECE Costume Contest
Derek, Michelle, Alycen, and Eduardo dress up as the four Jims from The Office.
Bell Studies Robot-Assisted Imaging to Improve Patient Care
The work of Professor Bell and the PULSE Lab is featured in the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics newsletter: https://lcsr.jhu.edu/2017/09/05/bell-studies-robot-assisted-imaging-improve-patient-care/#.WfU3jRNSxn4.
Optics and Photonics Conference at Johns Hopkins University
The student chapter of the Optical Society of America at Johns Hopkins is hosting a day-long optics and photonics conference on Monday December 11, 2017.
The goal of this conference is to bring together leaders in the optical sciences from a wide range of subjects, to foster learning, collaboration, and to emphasize the impact optics and photonics have on a plethora of disciplines.
The conference will feature invited talks by the following researchers in various optics and photonics areas:
Nader Engheta
H. Nedwell Ramsey Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Jay Guo
Professor of Electrical Electronics and Computer Science, University of Michigan
Michelle Sander
Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Boston University
Audrey Bowden
Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, Stanford University
Giuliano Scarcelli
Assistant Professor, The Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland
For more details: https://engineering.jhu.edu/ece/osa/hopkins-photonics-conference/
To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/optics-and-photonics-conference-at-johns-hopkins-university-tickets-39142374897?aff=es2
SPIE Medical Imaging Paper Accepted
Our paper, “Feasibility of photoacoustic guided hysterectomies with the da Vinci robot,” was accepted for Oral presentation at SPIE Medical Imaging in the Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling conference.
Session 2
Keynote and Medical Robotics
Tuesday 13 February 2018
10:10 AM – 12:10 PM
Feasibility of photoacoustic guided hysterectomies with the da Vinci robot
Paper 10576-9
Authors: Margaret Allard, Joshua Shubert, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
Congrats to Margaret, Josh, and Prof. Bell!
Three Abstracts Accepted to SPIE Photonics West
Three PULSE Lab abstracts were accepted to SPIE Photonics West in the BiOS Conference Track: Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2018 (Conference 10494). This conference track will take place Sunday- Wednesday January -28-31, 2018 at the The Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.
- A novel drill design for photoacoustic guided surgeries
Paper 10494-18
Authors: Joshua Shubert, Muyinatu BellSession 3: Therapy Monitoring and Guidance IISunday 28 January 2018
1:30 PM – 2:45 PM - Using convolutional neural networks to eliminate reflection artifacts in experimental photoacoustic images
Paper 10494-190
Authors: Derek Allman, Austin Reiter, Muyinatu Bell
Session PTue: Posters-Tuesday
Tuesday 30 January 2018
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM - Development and validation of a short-lag spatial coherence theory for photoacoustic imaging
Paper 10494-193
Authors: Michelle Graham, Muyinatu Bell
Session PTue: Posters-Tuesday
Tuesday 30 January 2018
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Congrats to Josh, Derek, and Michelle!
Conference track website: https://spie.org/PWB/conferencedetails/photons-plus-ultrasound
ECE Distinguished Lecture Hosted by Prof. Bell
Thursday, October 5, 2017
3:00 PM – Olin Hall, Room 305
*Light-fare reception hosted by ECE after seminar *
SAMPLING PATTERNS THAT EXPAND DATA DIMENSIONALITY FOR ENHANCED LABEL-FREE US PERFUSION IMAGING
Presented by Professor Michael Insana
Department of Bioengineering, ECE, and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hosted By Muyinatu Bell
Josh Passed the ECE Department Qualifying Exam
Congrats to Joshua Shubert on passing his ECE Department Qualifying Exam!
IEEE IUS 2017 Recap
We just returned from a successful, invigorating, and inspiring IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) held in Washington, DC at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Some photograph highlights of our involvement appear below.
Joshua Shubert presented his poster entitled “Photoacoustic Based Visual Servoing of Needle Tips to Improve Biopsy on Obese Patients”
Derek Allman presented his poster entitled “A Machine Learning Method to Identify and Remove Reflection Artifacts in Photoacoustic Channel Data“
Prof. Bell served on the 2017 IUS Organizing Committee as the Communications Chair. She received a certificate from the UFFC Society President (Clark Nguyen, left) and Vice President for Ultrasonics (Jafar Saniie, right) in appreciation of her service.
Michelle Graham (photo unavailable) also presented her poster entitled “Theoretical Application of Short-Lag Spatial Coherence to Photoacoustic Imaging.”
PULSE Lab members additionally collaborated to contribute to the following papers:
PULSE Lab Receives NVIDIA GPU Grant
The PULSE Lab is grateful to NVIDIA Corporation for donating a state-of-the-art Titan Xp GPU to support our clinical implementation of novel ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging algorithms.
Derek and Michelle Pass the ECE Department Qualifying Exams
Congrats to Derek Allman and Michelle Graham on passing their ECE Department Qualifying Exams!
Welcome to Alycen Wiacek
The PULSE Lab welcomes Alycen Wiacek. Alycen has a M.S. degree in ECE from Oakland University (Rochester, MI) and she completed her B.S. degree in ECE at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). Welcome Alycen!
SLSC Beamforming Code Now Available on UltraSound Toolbox
The UltraSound Toolbox (USTB) is a free MATLAB toolbox for processing ultrasonic signals. The primary purpose of the USTB is to facilitate the comparison of imaging techniques and the dissemination of research results. The PULSE Lab is proud to collaborate on this effort to deliver SLSC beamforming to the broader ultrasound community. An example using the SLSC algorithm on a CIRS phantom and on human heart data was added today, as described here: http://www.ustb.no/examples/advanced-beamforming/short-lag-spatial-coherence-slsc/. The heart and phantom datasets and the SLSC code are now freely available to use. Additional datasets and beamforming code can be found by perusing the USTB website.
Congrats to Ole Marius Hoel Rindal (our visiting student from the University of Oslo) for putting in the work required to pull this together!
Welcome to Eduardo González
The PULSE Lab welcomes our newest graduate student, Eduardo González. Eduardo is a Fulbright Fellow from Peru, and he is a student in the JHU BME Department. Welcome Eduardo!
Margaret Allard Receives Best Presentation Award
Congratulations to PULSE Lab undergraduate student Margaret Allard who received the best presentation award from the NSF REU program in Computational Sensing and Medical Robotics. Her presentation was entitled Identifying Optimal da Vinci Tool Orientations for Photoacoustic Guided Hysterectomies. Prof. Jerry Prince presented Margaret with this award.
This award was shared by Margaret Allard and Mindy Wagenmaker.
JBO Paper Accepted
Our paper entitled Photoacoustic-based approach to surgical guidance performed with and without a da Vinci robot was accepted for publication in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO) Special Section on Translational Biophotonics.
Congrats to undergraduates Neeraj Gandhi and Margaret Allard!
This work was completed in partnership with the NSF REU in Computational Sensing and Medical Robotics along with collaborators Sungmin Kim and Peter Kazanzides, and it is the first to integrate photoacoustic imaging with the da Vinci surgical robot. It was also featured on the journal homepage.
Summer Enrichment Camp Visits PULSE Lab
The Miracle City Summer Enrichment Camp (MCSEC) visited the PULSE Lab and learned about topics ranging from sonography to robot assisted ultrasound imaging and photoacoustic-guided surgery. Hands-on demonstrations enabled this inquisitive group of middle schoolers to scan an abdominal phantom, operate a neurosurgical drill, and teleoperatively manipulate the da Vinci robot arms in the LCSR mock operating room.
Journal Article Featured by IEEE TBME
Prof. Bell’s co-authored journal article, System integration and in vivo testing of a robot for ultrasound guidance and monitoring during radiotherapy, was selected to be featured by IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.
Three Abstracts Accepted to IEEE IUS 2017
Three PULSE Lab abstracts were accepted for presentation during the 2017 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) to be held on September 6-9, 2017 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington D.C., USA.
- “Theoretical Application of Short-Lag Spatial Coherence to Photoacoustic Imaging” to be presented by Michelle Graham in the MBB: Non linear and coherence imaging poster session, 3-4 pm on Thursday, September 7, 2017. (Abstract ID: 1526)
- “Photoacoustic Visual Servoing of Needle Tips to Improve Biopsy Targeting in Obese Patients” to be presented by Joshua Shubert in the MPA: Technical Developments in Photoacoustic Imaging poster session, 3-4 pm on Friday, September 8, 2017. (Abstract ID: 1088)
- “Identification and removal of reflection artifacts in photoacoustic images using convolutional neural networks” to be presented by Derek Allman in the MIM: Machine learning poster session, 9:30-10:30 am on Saturday, September 9, 2017. (Abstract ID: 1523)
Congrats to Michelle, Josh, and Derek!
Symposium website: http://ewh.ieee.org/conf/ius/2017/
Welcome to REU Student Margaret Allard
The PULSE Lab welcomes NSF REU student Margaret Allard! She is an undergradute student majoring in Physics at Smith College, and she will be working with us through the 10 week Computational Sensing & Medical Robotics summer program.
Four PULSE Lab Presentations at UITC 2017
PULSE Lab members presented the following four talks at the International Symposium on Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization, June 5-7, 2017:
- Principal component short-lag spatial coherence imaging (PC-SLSC), Arun Asokan Nair, Trac D. Tran and Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
- Photoacoustic-based visual servoing of needle tips to improve surgery on obese patients, Joshua Shubert and Muyinatu Bell
- Theoretical application of short-lag spatial coherence to photoacoustic imaging, Michelle Graham and Muyinatu Lediju Bell
- Evaluation of a convolutional neural network for identifying reflection artifacts in photoacoustic imaging, Derek M. Allman, Austin Reiter and Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell
Michelle (left) and Derek (right) giving their first PULSE Lab research presentations:
Symposium website: http://uitc-symposium.org/
IEEE ISCAS 2017 Special Session: Innovations In Acoustics
Prof. Bell will co-chair the IEEE ISCAS 2017 Special Session entitled “Innovations In Acoustics”. This session will be held on May 29, 2017 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore, MD, and it provides unique access to acoustic researchers from various academic departments across Johns Hopkins University. This special session will cover acoustics on various levels, starting from background noise suppression in an electronic stethoscope, to bat echolocation processing to ultrasonic medical imaging and acoustic beamforming. It includes an invited talk from the father of microphone technology, Prof. Jim West, a National Medal of Technology and Innovation winner, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a recipient of countless additional high honors. The session also includes a technical talk from a local ultrasound imaging start-up company (Sonavex, Inc.) formed based on ideas born here in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins University, which uniquely supports the conference theme “from Dreams to Innovation”.
Deep Learning in Healthcare Summit
Prof. Bell presents the PULSE lab’s work to improve photoacoustic-guided surgeries using machine learning at the 3rd Global DEEP LEARNING IN HEALTHCARE SUMMIT in Boston, MA, May 25-26, 2017: https://www.re-work.co/events/deep-learning-health-boston-2017
Photo credit: teamrework
LCSR Industry Day
- New faculty talk by Prof. Bell
- Hands-on Demos in the PULSE Lab
More details: https://lcsr.jhu.edu/events/jhu-robotics-industry-day-2017/#.WNgbkBLyvwc
Joshua Shubert Receives NSF Fellowship
NIH R00 Grant Awarded
The PULSE Lab received the 2nd phase of Dr. Bell’s NIH K99/R00 award to support our project entitled “Coherence-Based Photoacoustic Image Guidance of Transsphenoidal Surgeries”. This work is motivated by the clinical challenges surrounding the removal of pituitary tumors using the minimally invasive endonasal transsphenoidal approach, which incurs the deadly risk of causing injury to the internal carotid arteries. We propose to eliminate this risk by developing a sophisticated photoacoustic imaging system that visualizes blood vessels located behind bone during the surgical operation. This photoacoustic imaging system will be equipped with our novel coherence-based beamformers and our specialized light delivery systems.
Invited Seminars by Prof. Bell in March 2017
Prof. Bell will give the following invited seminar in March 2017:
Johns Hopkins BME Seminar Series
Monday, March 6, 2017
1:30 pm
Traylor 707-09 School of Medicine Campus
(video conferenced to Clark 110)
flyer
University of Southern California BME Seminar Series
Friday, March 10, 2017
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Denney Research Center (DRB 146)
flyer
ICRA Paper Accepted
Our paper Improving the Safety of Telerobotic Drilling of the Skull Base Via Photoacoustic Sensing of the Carotid Arteries was accepted for presentation at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Singapore, May 29-June 3, 2017.
Prof. Bell Speaks at IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference
Prof. Bell Speaks the Future Innovators Forum of the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference, Feb. 14, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada on the topic “Creating clearer imaging to diagnose disease earlier and reduce patient risk.”
Welcome to PULSE Lab Undergrad Brooke
The PULSE Lab welcomes BME undergraduate student Brooke Stephanian who will be joining us to assist with our clinical research projects.
PULSE Lab featured in SPIE Newsroom
The PULSE Lab’s work to develop specialized light delivery systems that surround surgical tools is featured in a promotional video for the SPIE Photonics West conference. The entire SPIE news release is available here.
PULSE Lab featured in SWE Magazine
The PULSE Lab’s latest work to apply machine learning to photoacoustic signal processing was featured in the Winter 2017 issue of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Magazine. The story appears as a subsection of the piece entitled, AI’s Forthcoming Transformation of Medicine. This work will also be presented at the upcoming SPIE Photonics West conference.
Prof. Bell featured in JHU Magazine
Prof. Bell is featured in the Impact section of the winter issue of the JHU Engineering magazine. The article, entitled Clearer Vision for Surgeons, focuses on our lab’s latest venture to integrate photoacoustic imaging with a daVinci surgical robot in collaboration with researchers in the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics.
Journal of Biomedical Optics Paper Accepted
Congratulations to Blackberrie Eddins on the acceptance of her manuscript, Design of a Multifiber Light Delivery System for Photoacoustic-Guided Surgery, for publication in the Journal of Biomedical Optics to appear in the 2017 Photoacoustic Imaging and Sensing Special Section.
ECE Distinguished Lecture Hosted by Prof. Bell
Stanislav Emelianov
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University School of Medicine
Clinical Translation of Emerging Ultrasound Imaging Technologies
Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 3pm in Hodson 311 (reception to follow)
Hosted By Muyinatu Bell