Research

Medical Imaging

What is Medical Imaging?

Medical imaging uses advanced technologies like X-rays, ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look inside the human body. These tools help doctors and technicians diagnose, monitor, and treat illnesses or injuries. The field involves developing the machines and the software that make these images possible, with the goal of improving healthcare and discovering new ways to treat patients.

Areas of Focus

Using these advanced imaging techniques, our biomedical engineers conduct cutting-edge research to:

Study bone health, joint health, infections, and treatments.
Investigate cancer biology, cancer pathology, and tumor development.
Predict flare-ups in autoimmune diseases and chronic illness management.
Develop injury biomechanics models and evaluate treatment options.
Fabricate and monitor 3D engineered tissues for biomedical applications.
Develop therapeutic applications, including drug delivery systems, wound healing solutions, thrombolysis, high-intensity focused ultrasound surgery, and gene transfection therapies.
Analyze complex medical imaging data for improved diagnostics and treatment planning.

A hand holding a device displaying an ultrasound image.

Revealing the Unseen

Medical Imaging at Rochester

Our department takes an interdisciplinary approach to medical imaging research, benefited greatly by our proximity to the University of Rochester Medical Centerand co-location with the Institute of Optics.

Medical imaging research here at Rochester covers a wide range of imaging methods and applications. We have continued to make meaningful advancements in the biomedical field, like discovering how ultrasound can be leveraged to build new blood vessels in living tissue.

University Interdisciplinary Medical Imaging Centers

The University of Rochester is home to two prestigious, interdisciplinary medical imaging centers, that support research from not only our department, but also other departments in the Hajim School of Engineering, School of Arts & Sciences, and University of Rochester Medical Center. The Center for Biomedical Ultrasound also collaborates with researchers outside of the University of Rochester.

Center for Biomedical Ultrasound

Led by Diane Dalecki, the Kevin J. Parker Distinguished Professor in Biomedical Engineering, the Center for Biomedical Ultrasound is a leading force in advancing the use of ultrasound in diagnosis and discovering new therapeutic applications of ultrasound in medicine and biology. This group consists of over 100 faculty members and labs from across the University and beyond.

Center for Biomedical Ultrasound

University of Rochester Center for Advanced Brain Imaging & Neurophysiology (UR CABIN)

UR CABIN, housed in the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, is home to state-of-the-art brain imaging technologies specifically dedicated to research. The center not only offers researchers access to assessment rooms for behavioral and cognitive testing, but also offers workshops, research presentations, summer research experiences, tours, and demonstrations.

UR CABIN

Medical Imaging Researchers

Meet the faculty at the forefront of medical imaging research.

Interesting in doing research here as a graduate student? Check out our doctoral training faculty page for a list of biomedical engineering faculty who work with graduate students.

Timothy Baran, PhD

Diffuse optics, photodynamic therapy, and medical image processing

Edward Brown III, PhD

Multiphoton laser scanning microscopy, novel in vivo imaging and measurement techniques, tumor biology, angiogenesis

Benjamín Castañeda, PhD

Development of Point-of-Care Technologies for resource limitted settings. Development of ultrasound-based imaging diagnostic techniques

Regine Choe, PhD

Diffuse optics for in vivo cancer detection, diagnosis and therapy monitoring

Diane Dalecki, PhD

Biomedical ultrasound, acoustics, lithotripsy, biological effects of ultrasound

Marvin Doyley, PhD

Tissue characterization, inverse problems, breast imaging, elastography, cardiovascular disease, molecular imaging, ultrasound, and MRI

Michael Giacomelli, PhD

Multiphoton microscopy, surgical imaging, digital pathology, fluorescencelifetime imaging, 3D and molecular imaging

Amy L. Lerner, PhD

Orthopaedic biomechanics, bone growth and development, cartilage mechanics, medical image-based finite element modeling, knee biomechanics

Susana Marcos, PhD

Ocular Imaging, Corneal Biomechanics, Ocular implants, Opto-mechanical modeling in the eye, Myopia, Presbyopia, Cataract, Adaptive Optics, Visual Simulation, Diagnostic technologies in ophthalmology

Stephen A. McAleavey, PhD

Development of novel, clinically applicable ultrasound imaging techniques

Mohammad Mehrmohammadi, PhD

Develop novel, hybrid, and ultrasound-based diagnostic methods, and define the clinical utility of the developed technologies as it applies to detection, diagnosis, and therapy of various pathologies

Kevin James Parker, PhD

Medical imaging, digital imaging, halftoning, and novel scanning techniques using Doppler shift effects

Jannick Rolland, PhD

Optical instrumentation, system engineering, optical coherence tomography

Edward M. Schwarz, PhD

Pro-inflammatory cytokine signal transduction and novel drug and gene therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Axel W. E. Wismuller, MD, PhD

Intelligent image acquisition and analysis systems in biomedicine

Chao Xie, PhD

Bone repair and regeneration for critical defects caused by trauma, infection, and tumors, aiming to connect translational medicine with innovative therapies for musculoskeletal diseases

Jianhui Zhong, PhD

Development and medical application of magnetic resonance imaging