My colleague Dr. Chan and I have introduced a high-frequency miniature ultrasound probe for cross-sectional imaging of oral soft tissues which has attracted great interest by the dental community. Ultrasound will revolutionize dentistry which is currently unable to adequately image soft tissue. It may become an objective diagnostic tool to quantify soft tissue inflammation and hard tissue loss, without ionizing radiation.
The quantification of our vascular system is currently limited to blood pressure measurements. My colleagues, Drs. Fowlkes, Rubin, and Pinter, and I have pioneered the use of 3D (color flow) ultrasound to obtain true volumetric blood flow in milliliters per min. Where blood pressure and other approaches are merely surrogates for blood flow, this technology has demonstrated impact in Transjugular Intrahepatic Porto-systemic Shunts (TIPS), internal carotids and basilar flow in neonates as well as in umbilical venous flow. The latter may become a diagnostic tool for preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction.
My undergrad and Masters education was in Germany, where I studied experimental and theoretical physics at Universität des Saarlandes. In parallel I was a research assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering in St. Ingbert/Germany. Post graduation I moved to Ann Arbor as a visiting scholar. The fabulous first and lasting impression of UM, made be switch to become a PhD student in Applied Physics, followed by a post-doc in Radiology, which then led to my faculty position in Radiology as well.
The above described projects need to find their way into regular clinical practice; that is my scientific goal. My teaching goal is to keep encountering difficult questions from trainees. Those questions are the best way to keep learning.
Physical data is valuable. But data science and AI, allows hidden values to surface. It is the aha moments, when all arrows start to align and make a connection to the clinical presentation. Directly measured data is great, but indirect data derived through data science and AI, is priceless.
I love running. Started late in life and completed so far 3 marathons post the age of 50. Running is the best way to focus and let go of stress.