Non-Invasive Patient-Specific Interventional Technology

Medical images allow doctors to assess patient health by revealing anatomy without invasive procedures. For example, enlarged heart ventricles are signs of cardiac disease; the location of cerebral hemorrhages can indicate the location of arterial vessel wall rupture in the brain. Advanced, high-resolution medical images, when appropriately analyzed, even make it possible to extract functional information. For example, the pumping power produced by the heart can be measured by dynamic imaging; characteristics of blood flow in the brain can show the locations of weakened vessel walls before rupture occurs.

Our lab develops tools and algorithms for obtaining individualized diagnoses and information about organ function from patient medical images made during regular clinical evaluation. Therefore, a record of health changes can be compared on an individual basis without additional medical procedures. More importantly, it can help follow each person's response to treatments, including implantable devices and medications. We work closely with the clinical side of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and assist the Division of Interventional Neuroradiology to evaluate the risk of brain aneurysm rupture [HotTopics]. We also closely collaborate with industrial partners in innovative medical imaging and patient-specific implantable devices.