Positron emission tomography (PET)
Positron emission tomography is a functional imaging method. The tracer distribution can be recovered from the measured data by use of a reconstruction algorithm. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic reaction constants pertinent to physiological metabolisms can be obtained from PET measurement data and a plasma input function. Our team focuses on (i) developing and parallelizing reconstruction algorithms and optimization methods to determine PET images and underlying physiological mechanisms, which are of great importance to both research development and clinical applications, and (ii) developing the MRI compatible PET inserts to enable multi-modality imaging.
X-ray phase-contrast imaging
Different from conventional computed tomography, which is based on absorption contrast, X-ray phase-contrast imaging techniques can exploit the complex reflective index of an object. It can provide separate images that concurrently depict absorption, reflective and scattering properties. The complementary information given by these images can shed light on the imaged sample and its characteristics. Additionally, the image formation does not require a contrast agent. The fact that phase contrast can persist at higher X-ray energies makes it a promising candidate for low-dose imaging.
Photoacoustic effect
Photoacoustic effect refers the formation of sound waves following the light absorption in a material. The sound wave can be intercepted by an ultrasound transducer. Subsequently, the optical absorption properties of the material can be reconstructed. Such images possess the high contrast of optical images and good spatial resolution of sound waves.