Medical Imaging

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Vanderbilt University researchers have designed a system for non-invasive discrimination between normal and cancerous skin lesions. The system combines the depth-resolving capabilities of OCT technique with Raman Spectroscopy's specificity of molecular chemistry. By linking both imagining techniques into a single detector arm, the complexity, cost, and size of previously reported RS-OCT instruments have been significantly improved. The combined instrument is capable of acquiring data sets that allow for more thorough assessment of a sample than existing optical techniques.

Researchers at Vanderbilt have created a new approach to produce uniform radio frequency (RF) fields in the body during high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Existing high field MRI machines create non-uniform RF fields that lead to non-uniform sensitivity in the generated images, also referred to as "hot" and "cold" spots. These local variations interfere with the tissue contrast of the images that radiologists depend upon to make accurate diagnoses. By generating uniform RF fields in the body, this technology provides the benefits of high field MRI without the non-uniform RF fields.

Researchers at Vanderbilt have developed a new image-guided, trackerless surgical microscope system to be used in soft tissue surgeries. The current method is to use a surgical microscope along with an image-guided system. This new design eliminates the need for a separate image-guidance system; the entire guidance environment can be realized within the microscope environment.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a test that uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the heart. It provides more detail that a standard echocardiogram. Vanderbilt researchers have created a software that creates an easy to follow, step-by-step procedure for a transesophageal echocardiography exam.