MIT Reports to the President 1996-97

WHITAKER COLLEGE

The Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology (Whitaker College) is a major interdisciplinary academic and research entity at MIT. Several areas of research and teaching that are pertinent to health, both fundamental and applied, have been developed and been incorporated into Whitaker College.

Current activities in the Whitaker College include the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, the Clinical Research Center, the Division of Toxicology, the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Biomedical Imaging and Computation, and the Center for Biomedical Engineering.

We report here on the events and new initiatives of programs that operate within the College core. The activities of the above departments and centers are reported separately.

BIOLOGICAL IMAGING AND COMPUTATION

Research in imaging and computer simulation takes place in the Whitaker College Biomedical Imaging and Computation Laboratory (WCBICL). In addition to providing a site for the faculty and research staff associated with this effort, the goal of the laboratory is to encourage faculty, research staff and students in relevant departments to collaborate on basic research in imaging technologies and display methods and in simulating and understanding the interaction of radiation of different types with various materials both organic and inorganic.

The resources of the laboratory include seven SUN Microsystems workstations, two Silicon Graphics workstations, two PCs, and two Macintosh computers. Most are directly connected to the MIT Campus Network. A variety of peripheral devices are also available.

One of the most exciting new research areas dealing with the design of radiation therapy has been the development of a new method of treating rheumatoid arthritis using neutrons and boron-loaded pharmaceuticals. This new method has been called "Boron Neutron Capture Synovectomy" by Professor Yanch. Her collaborators in this area include Dr. Alan Davison from the Department of Chemistry and researchers at the Harvard Medical School. Appropriate neutron beams, suitable for patient treatment, are currently being designed using the computation resources of WCBICL.

A second research thrust in the WCBICL is in the area of image analysis and image diagnosis. Areas of major interest over the past two years include the automated analysis of mammograms, algorithms for detection of shape irregularities in images of synaptic vesicles, and the development of new methods of real-time three-dimensional image display. One project dealing with the development of a sophisticated simulation program to model the behavior of gamma photons in Nuclear Medicine imaging is able to link the two major research areas (imaging and radiation transport simulation) in the lab. This system is being used in the design of Nuclear Medicine imaging protocols which will allow early detection of artherosclerosis. A parallel effort in this area has culminated in the design of a full, 3D human-like computer phantom which is used in the assessment of patient dose in various imaging modalities.

A multi-layer page on the World Wide Web (WWW) in which all the research projects and personnel of the lab are listed has been installed and is currently being modified. The contents of the WWW page will change as research projects proceed and new projects are taken on by individuals in the lab.

The lab currently has 52 registered users consisting of faculty, research staff, graduate students, undergraduate students and visitors from outside MIT who use the resources of the lab remotely. Roughly 30 users are from the Nuclear Engineering Department (NED), 18 are from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) or other parts of the Whitaker College and 14 are from the rest of the MIT community or are remote "visitors."

The WCBICL continues to play an increasing important role in education, particularly with respect to the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology doctoral programs. Many of the students in these programs conduct thesis research in the lab; the lab is also used for teaching and experimentation in both HST and NED. The HST laboratory projects are designed to provide practical experiences in processing physiological data with examples from neurophysiology, cardiology, and two-dimensional imaging analysis. The NED students undertake projects in which they learn the physics of radiation behavior while becoming familiar with one of the four public-domain radiation transport codes available in the lab. Students typically choose to apply their simulation work to research in radiation therapy.

WCBICL also supports a number of undergraduates in their thesis or UROP research.

Jacquelyn C. Yanch

MIT Reports to the President 1996-97