Event
Bioengineering Seminar Series: Ronald M. Summers
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
0408 Animal Science/Agricultural Eng. Bldg.
Professor Yu Chen
(301) 405-3439
yuchen@umd.edu
Current Concepts and Future Directions in Virtual Colonoscopy: Computer-Aided Detection
Presented by Dr. Ronald M. Summers
National Institutes of Health
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the Western world. Virtual colonoscopy is a CT-based method that has proven capable of relatively noninvasive colorectal cancer screening. In virtual colonoscopy, three-dimensional reconstructions of the colon are prepared from CT scans of a patient's abdomen and pelvis. My research group has focused for the last several years on computer-aided detection (CAD) of polyps for virtual colonoscopy. We have developed shape-based features using differential geometry to identify abnormal growths in the colon. In association with collaborators at other institutions, we have developed a database of over 1200 proven virtual colonoscopy cases with optical colonoscopy correlation. Using this database, we continue to make advancements in improving sensitivity and reducing the false positive rate of CAD. Current work includes image processing to register supine and prone virtual colonoscopy examinations on the same patient, CAD of normal colonic features that mimic pathology, and software systems to train classifiers, validate results, and ensure software reliability and integrity. This lecture will provide an overview of the clinical background, mathematical underpinnings, and preliminary clinical trials conducted at the National Institutes of Health.
About the Speaker
Ronald Summers, M.D., Ph.D. is a general diagnostic radiologist and tenured image processing researcher at the National Institutes of Health where he has worked for the past 14 years. He received his B.A. degree in physics in 1981 and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in 1988, all from the University of Pennsylvania. Following a medical internship, he completed a radiology residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1993. In 1994, he completed an MRI fellowship at Duke University. In 2000, he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by President William Clinton. His research focuses on virtual endoscopy and computer aided detection from radiologic images. He has authored or co-authored over 150 publications and has several patents.
