Prof. Liangzhong Xiang, School of Electric and Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma

"Theranostics with Radiation-induced Ultrasound Emission(TRUE)"

Abstract: We look for novel ways to create new imaging modalities to push ultrasound imaging forward. The 1st project I will present is X-ray-induced Acoustic Computed Tomography (XACT). Since C. Röntgen discovered X-ray more than one hundred years ago, X-ray imaging has been an invaluable tool in medical diagnosis, biology, and materials science. X-ray computed tomography (CT) has proved tremendously useful for non-invasive medical imaging ever since its inception, nearly 50 years ago. However, one issue that is intrinsic of CT is its large radiation dosage. It is estimated that up to two percent of cancer cases are the result of the radiation obtained from CT imaging. This risk therefore can potentially negate many of the benefits provided by CT. An answer to this unsolved problem is X-ray-induced Acoustic Computed Tomography (XACT). While CT relies upon a rotating X-ray source and many X-ray projections to obtain a three-dimensional (3D) image, XACT can generate a 3D image through one single X-ray projection, drastically decreasing radiation dose. The 2nd project I will present is Proton-induced acoustic imaging for localizing the Bragg peak in radiation therapy. The aforementioned predictions of the most promising prospects of those new imaging techniques in both diagnostic imaging for either quantitative bone density mapping or breast cancer, and in vivo radiation dosimetry during radiation therapy, and nondestructive testing in industry.