AUTOMATIC 3D REGISTRATION FOR ENHANCED CANCER MANAGEMENT

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Driven by technology development, the oncologist/radiologist is currently under assault by increasing quantities of higher resolution anatomical and functional imaging data. The new LightSpeed CT scanner by GE is but one typical example of such new acquisition devices. It is imperative that new image processing tools be developed to help specialists filter through the massive amounts of data in order to maintain or even improve their sensitivity and specificity in detecting neoplastic changes. We believe that this grant is a significant step in this important direction and represents the best efforts of a truly multidisciplinary team. Automatic 3D Registration for Enhanced Cancer Management is a proposal to support limited, preclinical testing of the ability of advanced image processing techniques to improve the management of cancer by routinely culling more and earlier information for the clinician from existing diagnostic modalities. This program project grant includes a)the use of fMRI for pre (neuro)surgical planning focused on patients with movement disorders associated with lesions near the motor strip who could never remain sufficiently motionless for current fMRI techniques, b) support for lesion change detection and quantification from repeated, interval CT and ultrasound exams in order to monitor and potentially modify therapy plans based on individual patient response, c) automation in defining organs in radiation therapy treatment planning using noncontrast CT data sets, and d) the development of a method using registered CT and PET for reducing false positive nodes called on CT-only chest exams.