EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Medical Imaging

在过去的40年里，医学成像已经改变了临床医学。诊断成像提供了探测人体结构和功能的手段，而不必切开身体来观察疾病或损伤。影像学对与癌症早期阶段相关的变化非常敏感，可以在足够早的阶段发现疾病，从而对长期生存产生重大影响。将成像与治疗交付和手术相结合，使3D成像能够用于指导，即最大限度地减少对周围组织的伤害，增加成功结果的可能性。英国一直处于这些发展的最前沿。尽管取得了这些进展，但我们仍然不知道许多最致残和最危险疾病的最基本机制和病因。对于许多最常见的癌症，如肺癌、头颈癌、肝癌、胰腺癌，癌症存活率仍然很低。一些最令人痛苦的神经系统疾病，如痴呆、多发性硬化症、癫痫和一些更常见的脑癌，长期治愈率仍然很低。影像是诊断和研究疾病进展和治疗反应的主要手段。为了充分发挥其成像潜力，需要在多个尺度上结合生物功能及其与组织结构关系的计算建模。强大的计算机技术的出现为更好地了解疾病的发生和发展以及指导和评估治疗的有效性提供了令人兴奋的机会。同时，新的成像方法，如光声学，以及同时使用PET和MRI等技术的结合，创造了全新的方法来观察健康功能和与早期和晚期疾病进展相关的正常功能的干扰。越来越清楚的是，将先进的传感器设计与图像形成和生物系统建模中的先进计算方法相结合的多参数、多尺度和多传感器方法是前进的方向。EPSRC医学成像博士培训中心将在成像科学和方法方面提供全面和综合的博士培训。该计划非常关注新的图像采集技术，新颖的数据分析方法以及与计算建模的集成。这将是一个为期四年的博士课程，旨在为学生在学术界，工业界和医疗保健部门的成功职业生涯做好准备。它包括一个MRes年，学生将获得在这个快速发展的领域的核心能力，以及在成像设备和计算方法方面的创新技能。在攻读博士学位期间（二至四年级），学生将深入研究医学成像的一个方面及其在医疗保健中的应用，并为具有挑战性的问题寻求创新的解决方案。大多数项目都是跨学科的，主要主管是计算机科学家、物理学家、数学家或工程师，第二主管是具有临床或生命科学背景的人，必要时还会有一名工业主管。每个项目都在EPSRC的职权范围内。该中心将在4年后达到72名学生的峰值，并将获得专用的空间和设施。参与计划的院系大力支持这项计划，并鼓励新获委任的学者积极参与。该中心将填补已确定的重大技能差距，我们的毕业生将在该领域的学术研究，工业发展（包括吸引外来投资和推动初创企业）以及倡导这一重要且不断扩大的医学工程领域产生重大影响。

Medical imaging has transformed clinical medicine in the last 40 years. Diagnostic imaging provides the means to probe the structure and function of the human body without having to cut open the body to see disease or injury. Imaging is sensitive to changes associated with the early stages of cancer allowing detection of disease at a sufficient early stage to have a major impact on long-term survival. Combining imaging with therapy delivery and surgery enables 3D imaging to be used for guidance, i.e. minimising harm to surrounding tissue and increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome. The UK has consistently been at the forefront of many of these developments. Despite these advances we still do not know the most basic mechanisms and aetiology of many of the most disabling and dangerous diseases. Cancer survival remains stubbornly low for many of the most common cancers such as lung, head and neck, liver, pancreas. Some of the most distressing neurological disorders such as the dementias, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and some of the more common brain cancers, still have woefully poor long term cure rates. Imaging is the primary means of diagnosis and for studying disease progression and response to treatment. To fully achieve its potential imaging needs to be coupled with computational modelling of biological function and its relationship to tissue structure at multiple scales. The advent of powerful computing has opened up exciting opportunities to better understand disease initiation and progression and to guide and assess the effectiveness of therapies. Meanwhile novel imaging methods, such as photoacoustics, and combinations of technologies such as simultaneous PET and MRI, have created entirely new ways of looking at healthy function and disturbances to normal function associated with early and late disease progression. It is becoming increasingly clear that a multi-parameter, multi-scale and multi-sensor approach combining advanced sensor design with advanced computational methods in image formation and biological systems modelling is the way forward.The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Medical Imaging will provide comprehensive and integrative doctoral training in imaging sciences and methods. The programme has a strong focus on new image acquisition technologies, novel data analysis methods and integration with computational modelling. This will be a 4-year PhD programme designed to prepare students for successful careers in academia, industry and the healthcare sector. It comprises an MRes year in which the student will gain core competencies in this rapidly developing field, plus the skills to innovate both with imaging devices and with computational methods. During the PhD (years 2 to 4) the student will undertake an in-depth study of an aspect of medical imaging and its application to healthcare and will seek innovative solutions to challenging problems. Most projects will be strongly multi-disciplinary with a principle supervisor being a computer scientist, physicist, mathematician or engineer, a second supervisor from a clinical or life science background, and an industrial supervisor when required. Each project will lie in the EPSRC's remit. The Centre will comprise 72 students at its peak after 4 years and will be obtaining dedicated space and facilities. The participating departments are strongly supportive of this initiative and will encourage new academic appointees to actively participate in its delivery. The Centre will fill a significant skills gap that has been identified and our graduates will have a major impact in academic research in his area, industrial developments including attracting inward investment and driving forward start-ups, and in advocacy of this important and expanding area of medical engineering.