NIH Symposium: Visualizing the Future of Biology and Medicine
From
Friday 25 to Saturday 26 June 1999, the United States National Institutes of
Health (NIH) held a symposium on biomedical imaging entitled "Visualizing
the Future of Biology and Medicine" at the Natcher Conference Center in
Bethesda, Maryland. The symposium was organised by NIH's Bioengineering
Consortium (BECON) and co-sponsored by the American Institute for Medical and
Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the Radiological Society of North America
(RSNA).
The goal of the symposium was to "Chart a vision for the future of biomedical imaging research". The objectives were to identify the challenges and opportunities in biomedical imaging science; to develop strategies for integrating imaging science with biological and medical research; to provide a forum for interdisciplinary imaging scientists to discuss the vision and future of biomedical imaging research and to recommend areas of future investment to NIH. More than 700 participants attended the symposium. Due to overwhelming interest and to the limited capacity of the Natcher Center, registration for the symposium had to be closed well in advance of the event.
Speakers, panelists, and moderators for the symposium were selected for their important contributions to the field of biomedical imaging and for their ability to convey a long-term perspective on the future of the field.
Dr Harold Varmus, Director of NIH, opened the conference. The first plenary session dealt with challenges for the imaging sciences. Thomas F. Budinger, M.D., Ph.D., of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, gave a talk on "Challenges for the Imaging Sciences in Neurological, Cardiovascular, Musculoskeletal, and Cancerous Disorders";
Thomas J. Brady, M.D., of the Massachusetts General Hospital, presented "Therapy: Challenges for Imaging Sciences"; Samuel Hellman, M.D., of the University of Chicago, spoke about "What the Oncologist Wants From Imaging", and Samuel A. Wickline, M.D., of Washington University, presented "Clinical Prospects for Imaging and Managing Angiogenesis in Cancer and Atherosclerosis". Wendy Baldwin, Ph.D., Deputy Director of NIH, gave an overview of the activities of BECON.
This was followed by sessions focusing on imaging at the cellular and molecular levels, imaging in the early detection of disease, and imaging in therapy. Each of the sessions included plenary addresses, presentation by panelists, and discussion.
Drs Henry N. Wagner, Jr., M.D., from Johns Hopkins University, and Linda L. Otis, D.D.S., of the University of Connecticut, co-moderated the session on Imaging at the Cellular and Molecular Levels. Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D., from the National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, gave opening remarks on "Implications of Systematic Genome-Wide Analysis for Diagnosis and Natural History of Human Cancer". Thomas J. Meade, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology, gave a presentation on "Design Issues for Novel Contrast Agents and Biologic Probes"; James G. Fujimoto, Ph.D., from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spoke about "Optical Coherence Tomography and In Vivo Imaging"; and Harvey R. Herschman, Ph.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles closed the session with an address on "In Vivo Microscopy With Positron Emission Tomography". The session was followed by a panel discussion, addressing such topics as phenotyping, genomics, contrast mechanisms, imaging probes, imaging at the end of a catheter, imaging in association with implantable probes or biosensors, metabolic diseases, degenerative diseases, neoplasms, and angiogenesis. The panel included Katherine W. Ferrara, Ph.D., University of California, Davis; Ralph Weissleder, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital; Helene Benveniste, M.D., Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center; Daniel L. Farkas, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh and Robert F. Bonner, Ph.D., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH
The second day of the symposium began with opening remarks by William R. Hendee, Ph.D., President, AIMBE, who spoke on "Biomedical Imaging as a Science in Need of Identity and Support". Following his remarks, June Taylor, Ph.D., St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Albert Macovski, Ph.D., Stanford University, opened the session on "Imaging in the Early Detection of Disease".
The topic of "Ultrasound in the Early Detection of Disease" was covered by Olaf von Ramm, Ph.D., of Duke University; "Functional Imaging in the Early Detection of Disease" was presented by Nora D. Volkow, M.D., from the Brookhaven National Laboratory; and Jerome S. Schultz, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, gave a talk on "Biosensors in the Early Detection of Disease". A panel session on topics which included temporal, spatial, and contrast resolution needs for early detection; technologies for early detection of inflammatory, metabolic, degenerative, neoplastic disease; functional imaging technologies for early detection; home monitoring; biosensors; and image exploitation followed the plenary addresses. Panelists participating in the presentation and the following discussion were Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D., Emory University Hospital, Robert S. Balaban, Ph.D., National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph.D., University of Texas, Maryellen L. Giger, Ph.D., University of Chicago, and Peter Basser, Ph.D., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH
The final topic covered was "Imaging in Therapy". The session was co-moderated by Richard L. Ehman, M.D., Mayo Clinic, and James F. Toole, M.D., LL.B., Wake Forest University. The following individuals made presentations: Warren Grundfest, M.D., University of California, Los Angeles, on "Imaging in Therapy: Surgeon's Perspective"; Ron Kikinis, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, on "Imaging in Therapy: Radiologist's Perspective" and Sarah Nelson, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, on "Imaging in Therapy: Bioengineer's Perspective". A panel composed of Russell H. Taylor, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Michael E. Phelps, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Kullervo Hynynen, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Yoram Rudy, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University and Richard A. Robb, Ph.D., Mayo Foundation/Clinic, concluded with a discussion that included monitoring the effects of therapy, imaging in rational drug/therapy development, site-specific drug delivery, gene therapy, minimally invasive procedures, robotics, and image fusion.
Poster sessions and exhibits provided examples of the results that can be achieved when engineering principles and methods are applied to the solution of biological problems. A few examples of posters included titles such as: "A Comprehensive Assessment of Lung Structure and Function via Dynamic, Volumetric X-Ray Computed Tomography"; "A Near Field Phased Array Localizer for Small Tumors Using Near-Infrared Probe"; "Application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Microscopy to Cartilage Tissue Engineering"; "Applications of Imaging in the Evaluation of Arthritis and Its Treatment"; "Assessment of Trabecular Bone Structure Using Fractal Analysis"; "Automatic Segmentation of Relaxographic Data in Magnetic Resonance Imaging"; "Biomedical Optical Imaging Using Fluorescent Contrast Agents and Frequency-Domain Photon Migration Techniques"; "Breast Cancer Imaging Using Thermoacoustic Computed Tomography at 434 MHZ"; "Cancer Diagnosis Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence" "Combining Biomedical Image Data and Continuum Mechanics To Track Nonlinear Deformations of Soft Tissues"; "Cryo-Atomic Force Microscopy: An Effective Tool for the Study of Supermolecular Complexes"; "Enhanced Visualization in Endoscopic Surgery"; "Fast Low-Angle 31P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging of the Human Heart at 4.1 Tesla"; "Spectral Imaging at the Convergence of Cell Senescence, Detoxification, and Transformation"; "Gene Imaging and Receptor Targeting"; "High-Frequency Ultrasound Arrays for Cancer Detection"; "Imaging Oxygen by Oxygen-Dependent Quenching of Phosphorescence"; "Magnetic Resonance Metabolic Imaging of Prostate Cancer"; "Magnetoencephalography and Functional Brain Imaging"; "Optical Imaging of Wide Bandwidth Ultrasound Fields"; "Quantification of Left Ventricular Deformation From Three-Dimensional Image Sequences Using Physical and Geometrical Models"; "Segmentation and Measurement of Neuroanatomical Structure From Medical Images"; "Technologies for Breast Imaging and Molecular Imaging"; "TeleMed, A Virtual Electronic Medical Record"; "Tuned-Aperture Computed Tomography: A Versatile Three-Dimensional Imaging Method"; "Visualization of Cardiac Activation Wavefronts Based on Fusion of Existing Clinical Data"; and "Wound Care and Telemedicine: Monitoring Images From the Home".
This was the second symposium held by NIH to highlight and applaud engineering contributions to biomedical research. The first symposium, held last year, was titled: "Bioengineering: Building the Future of Biology and Medicine". The topic of biomedical imaging, selected for this year's symposium, was more focused than last year's event. Both symposia were intended to identify biomedical problems that need to be addressed and to explore ways by which biomedical engineers can contribute to the solution of these problems. This year's symposium marks another important step made by the biomedical research community in recognising how important the integration of engineering approaches with basic scientific exploration is to the solution of biological and medical problems in the next century.
It
was a very exciting event. Participants were exposed to the latest research and
the most recent innovations in imaging. It was an opportunity to discuss
scientific and technological problems with scientists and engineers who are at
the forefront of biomedical imaging, to gain new insight and ideas and, just as
important, to meet many old friends and make new ones.
Dov Jaron Ph.D.
Calhoun Distinguished Professor of Engineering in Medicine
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Drexel University
32nd and Chestnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA
Email: Dov.Jaron@COE.Drexel.EDU