Manager, PET Image Reconstruction and Physics Group - Canon Medical Research - Vernon Hills, IL
(2014-04 - 2024-04)
Managed a group of 3-4 senior reconstruction scientists, regular summer interns and an ongoing collaboration with UC Davis on PET image reconstruction projects. Group took charge of all image reconstruction and physics modeling code running on Canon's PET scanners and regularly interacted with detector, software and electronics groups in order to build prototypes for current and next generation scanners.
- Developed a deep convolutional neural network based image denoising method for whole-body clinical PET datasets that was transferred to product. Approach demonstrated to be quantitatively superior to existing reconstruction methods with clinically acceptable image quality. AI-based methods were also used for scatter estimation where AI transformed a non-scatter corrected image to a corrected one and for motion estimation where AI estimated the motion vectors.
- Developed a non-local-means post-filtering method for improved quantitation on brain and whole-body clinical datasets. Approach made part of Canon's PET scanners as CaLM. Method demonstrated to provide both higher contrast and lower noise compared to existing methods with clinically acceptable image quality.
- Developed a data-quality dependent image domain point-spread-function modeling approach for artifact-free resolution recovery.
- Developed efficient and practical methods for crystal efficiency normalization, deadtime correction and activity calibration for accurate quantitation.
Project Leader & Research Scientist, Functional Imaging Laboratory, Diagnostic and Biomedical Imaging Technologies - General Electric Global Research Center - Niskayuna, NY
(2005-06 - 2014-03)
- Led the regularized image reconstruction project (4 people) from the beginning until final transfer to product which became GE's Q.Clear offering as part of the quantitative image reconstruction suite.
- Led the industrial component of the ultra-low-dose CT project (4 people) in collaboration with University of Washington. Demonstrated how CT dose could be reduced by orders of magnitude when the CT image is intended only for PET attenuation correction.
- Developed motion corrected PET image reconstruction algorithms based on registering gated reconstructions to the reference gate. Product version is sold as Q.Freeze as part of GE's quantitative image reconstruction suite.
- Developed a much more cost efficient version of the stationary, CZT-based cardiac SPECT scanner at equivalent performance compared to the initially designed and sold version.
- Developed image reconstruction algorithms for a homeland security project based on data collected on a NaI detector placed on a truck for the purpose of detecting dangerous radioactive materials in an open field.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Molecular Imaging Center, Department of Radiology - University of Southern California - Los Angeles, CA
(2004-05 - 2005-05)
- Applied dynamic PET reconstruction algorithms and analysis techniques to microPET preclinical datasets.
Research Assistant, Biomedical Imaging Group, Department of Electrical Engineering - University of Southern California - Los Angeles, CA
(1999-09 - 2004-04)
- Developed a theoretical analysis framework and closed-form expressions for the bias, variance and resolution properties of fully 4D dynamic PET reconstructions.
- Applied fully 4D dynamic PET reconstruction techniques to real clinical datasets and demonstrated superiority over traditional multi-frame reconstructions.
- Developed an accurate statistical PET image reconstruction code with the entire research group for preclinical scanners. Code was licensed to Siemens and was part of all Focus and Inveon series preclinical scanners.
- Wrote efficient dynamic PET data compression code based on the statistical properties of list-mode PET data.
Summer Intern, Simulation of Packet Switched Networks - Turkish Telecommunications Inc. - Ankara, Turkey
(1998-06 - 1998-07)
Summer Intern, Thermal Imaging - Turkish Military Electronics Inc. - Ankara, Turkey
(1997-07 - 1997-08)
