Neuroimaging and Interventional Radiology

Biography

Biography: Jun Deng

Abstract

Medical imaging has revolutionized medical practices in the past hundred years, particularly in the diagnostic and radiotherapeutic management of cancers where anatomical and functional imaging procedures are applied routinely in the clinic worldwide for better diagnosis and treatment. Driven largely by technological advances as well as a fee-for-service healthcare model, the use of medical imaging modalities in cancer diagnosis and therapy has increased dramatically in the past thirty years. In addition, the application of imaging procedures in cancer diagnosis and radiotherapy remains largely non-personalized: a ‘one-protocol-fits-all’ practice is often applied in the clinic worldwide. Essentially, the imaging protocols provided by manufacturers are uniformly applied without considering individual differences of patients being scanned. As such, radiation exposure to individuals from medical imaging nowadays has increased over 8 times since 1980, which may become a serious public health concern due to increased secondary cancer risk. Whether to image and how to image an individual patient is not only an ongoing technical issue but also becoming an ethical concern in the clinic. This lecture will address the trend and issues of medical imaging in the US and around the world, and highlight a personalized imaging protocol approach that can be used to assist clinicians in making the best use of medical imaging with their patients worldwide to minimize radiation exposure and cancer risk, reduce medical costs and improve patient care.