Abstract
Supplement Aims and Scope
Biomedical Engineering and Computational Biology aims to provide researchers working in this complex, quickly developing field with online, open access to highly relevant scholarly articles by leading international researchers. In a field where the literature is ever-expanding, researchers increasingly need access to up-to-date, high quality scholarly articles on areas of specific contemporary interest. This supplement aims to address this by presenting high-quality articles that allow readers to distinguish the signal from the noise. The editor in chief hopes that through this effort, practitioners and researchers will be aided in finding answers to some of the most complex and pressing issues of our time.
Articles should focus on image and video acquisition and processing for clinical applications and may include the following topics:
Image acquisition
Novel biomedical imaging systems
Optical imaging, synthetic-natural hybrid image systems; opto-acoustic imaging
Image and video processing
Image and video filtering, restoration and optimization
Image and video enhancement, segmentation, morphological processing, interpolation and super-resolution
Feature extraction and analysis, object detection and classification
Motion detection, tracking and estimation
Color and multispectral processing, biometrics
At the discretion of the guest editors other articles on other relevant topics within the scope of the supplement may be included.
Traditionally, imaging techniques were primarily used for diagnostic purposes, treatment of diseases, and studying the anatomy and function of tissues and organs. Different imaging modalities now exist in the medical field to provide an assessment of a living tissue or organ at powerful functional resolutions. Among other capabilities, imaging provides (1) a beneficial approach for early detection or prevention of diseases, (2) capabilities to evaluate the body's response to a certain treatment, and (3) guidance during surgery. The conventional imaging modalities include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), x-ray computed tomography, ultrasound and positron emission tomography among others. However, highresolution, high-sensitivity and low cost imaging techniques are still needed in the biomedical field.
The field of medical imaging started with noninvasive x-ray images, which provided a two-dimensional (2D) representation of internal structures. However, as structure often relates to physiological functionality and pathophysiology, the 2D representation of organs was a limitation while attempting to study three-dimensional (3D) structure and function. 3D imaging techniques were then introduced and provided more robust capabilities for noninvasively evaluating internal anatomy. Several factors affect the quality of the images obtained using the different imaging modalities. The quality of images were primarily dictated by scanner instrumentation, image acquisition time, geometrical modeling of the tissues/ organs, as well as image reconstruction techniques.
Apart from diagnostic purposes, imaging has gained special attention in the field of biomedical research. One area of growing interest is the development of imaging application at the cellular spatio-resolutions. Different techniques have been developed to image the cellular level of a living tissue. Those techniques, whether applied in vitro or in vivo in animal models provide a better understanding of cellular morphology and function, widely applied to cell motility, migration, integration within host tissues, etc. In regenerative medicine, imaging techniques play a major role in tissue regeneration and reconstruction, primarily as a tool to monitor tissue integration and interactions. Medical imaging is also being used to develop computer aided design (CAD) models of anatomical geometries for applications ranging from subject specific prosthetic design to computational human body models for injury prediction.
This current supplement is unique in providing different perspectives of imaging techniques for medical purposes. The articles include topics ranging from imaging at the organ level to imaging at the cellular level for medical applications. For example, one article describes an application of some of the most widely used imaging modalities to diagnose and localize prostate cancer. The article focuses on the selection of the imaging technique based on the biological properties of the tumor. In another article in this supplement, imaging is discussed at the level of 3D cell culture systems. Those imaging modalities are essential for studying cellular architecture and dynamics. Another article in this supplement focuses on noninvasive imaging techniques in tissue engineering applications. This becomes critical when neo-tissues are followed for maturation and remodeling. These topics also have implications for the role that imaging can play for the regeneration of a whole organ. Image processing and acquisition are used to generate a 3D model of the tissue that can be used for bioprinting.
In conclusion, the current supplement highlights important, upcoming uses of imaging modalities in biomedical research. The editorial team strongly believes that the articles within this supplement explore the future of imaging in the biomedical space.
Footnotes
Guest Editors
Dr. Sean V. Murphy received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Western Australia and his Ph.D. from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Regenerative Medicine at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina, USA. His research focuses on developing regenerative medicine and tissue engineering strategies to establish and improve clinical treatments for lung disease. These strategies include cell therapies to restore normal function to lung tissue and minimize inflammation and scarring associated with disease, use of 3D bioprinting to fabricate new airway tissues for transplantation, and lung-on-a-chip technologies for disease modeling and drug discovery. Dr. Murphy is currently the Associate Editor of the journal Bioprinting, on the Editorial Board of multiple journals, including Stem Cells Translational Medicine and is Director, Secretary and Founder of the Perinatal Stem Cell Society. Dr. Murphy has published over 30 peer reviewed journal articles, multiple book chapters and reviews, and numerous awards and fellowships, most notably from the American Lung Association Senior Research Training and the American Australian Association.
Mr. Matthew L. Davis, M.S. received his Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Master's degree from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. He is currently a graduate research engineer in the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics. He is a member of the Full Body Models Center of Expertise of the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC), an industry-sponsored and government supported effort to develop a suite of industry-standard finite element human body models for crash injury prediction and prevention. He is also involved with several Dept. of Defense sponsored initiatives related to human body modeling and their application in the military arena. He previously worked at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill evaluating the effects of low magnitude high frequency vibration following traumatic ligament damage. His primary work is focused on the development of a small female human body finite element model. His interests span multiple areas in injury biomechanics with publications ranging from the development of computational human body models to orthopedic testing to evaluate surgical interventions and potential treatments to accelerate healing. Mr. Davis is an Altair graduate fellow and is the author or co-author of 10 publications with presentations at over 20 conferences.
Dr. Shreya Raghavan received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Virginia Polytechnic and State University in 2014. Dr. Raghavan is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Michigan, where she seeks to understanding the role of ovarian cancer stem cells in ovarian tumor metastasis and chemoresistance. Her research interests include stem cells in cancer progression and regenerative medicine, microenvironmental interactions in cancer and regenerative medicine, as well as, neuronal regeneration and plasticity. Dr. Raghavan has published over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and three peer-reviewed book chapters in a wide range of biomedical and medical journals.
Dr Mai T. Lam is an Assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State university. She completed her PhD at the university of Michigan and has previously worked at Stanford university. She now works primarily in Biomedical Engineering, focusing on creating translatable cardiovascular regenerative therapies. Dr. Lam is the author or co-author of 13 published papers and has presented at 10 conferences.