The Yang Laboratory focuses on medical imaging science in the field of radiation therapy and therapeutic medical physics. The research projects in the Yang Lab are supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB); the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI); and the Department of Radiation Oncology at Duke University.

Medical Imaging Science for Radiation Therapy

• Medical imaging modalities used in RT: CT, MRI, PET, Ultrasound, X-ray, Stereotactic X-ray
• Sub-modalities of CTs important for RT: helical CT, respiratory 4DCT, cardiac 4DCT, Cone-beam CT, 4D-CBCT, gated CBCT
• CT and sub-types are especially important for RT because they are the main imaging modality for tumor target and OAR definition, radiation dose plan preparation before treatment, image guidance on the treatment days, and patient follow-ups after treatments.
• Needs of medical imaging science and methods to support the clinical tasks
  • Motion analysis - 4DCT, image registration, 4D-CBCT, quick image acquisition, low dose CT imaging
  • Target and OAR delineation: automated image segmentation, AI, multi-modality image registration
  • Image guidance: CBCT, cross-modality image registration, 4D-CBCT
  • Online treatment adaptation: CBCT image quality enhancement

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