Follow Up: Biomedical Imaging Sequence
Biomedical Imaging Sequence for Biology Majors:
BIOS 21402 "Biomedical Imaging" (Winter Quarter) Instructors - Dr. Heather Whitney, Dr. Michael Walsh
BIOS 21403 "Quantitative Bioimaging" (Spring Quarter) Instructors - Dr. Joshua Weinstein, Dr. Michael Walsh
BIOS XXXXX "Microscopy across Scales" (Spring Quarter) Instructors - Dr. Noah Mitchell, Dr. Michael Walsh
This past Winter Quarter, BIOS 21402: Biomedical Imaging provided students with a comprehensive deep-dive into the technologies that allow us to see inside the human body. Led by Dr. Michael Walsh and Dr. Heather Whitney, the course bridged the gap between fundamental physics and modern clinical application.
The curriculum was designed to empower students to discover the complexities of medical imaging, understand the underlying physical principles, and apply advanced computational tools to solve real-world clinical challenges.
Key Areas of Focus for BIOS 21402 Included:
- The Big Five Modalities: Detailed exploration of Radiography, CT, MRI, Ultrasound, and Nuclear Medicine (PET/SPECT).
- Physics to Screen: Students mastered the principles of image formation, radiation safety, and the trade-offs required for optimal image quality.
- Hands-on Computation: Weekly Friday discussion sections served as a "computational lab," where students used Python and Jupyter Notebooks to analyze real-world DICOM datasets.
- Future Directions in Medical Imaging: The course went beyond current tech, covering the ethics of AI in medical imaging and the development of tissue phantoms to reduce reliance on animal models.
A highlight was the integration of Python-based projects. Students didn't just study theory; they used coding to examine and interpret medical images from different organs across different imaging modalities, such as observing ovarian cancers using CT imaging and identifying cancer metastases from lung cancers . The quarter culminated in individual projects where students identified publicly available imaging data sets that were of personal interest to them and got to explore them using the tools covered in class.
In the final weeks, the class had field trips to the CT and MRI labs. These site visits allowed students to see the multi-million dollar instrumentation discussed in lectures operating in a live research environment.
Whether or not you're imagining a future in medical research - if any of this sounds interesting to you, consider adding BIOS 21402 to your schedule next Winter or BIOS 21403 "Quantitative Bioimaging" for this quarter! This sequence can be taken in any order.
