Cscbce 2010

Plenary talk at 5th Canadian Student Conference on Biomedical Computing and Engineering May 20-22, 2010

Role of Image Processing, Navigation and Robots in Image-guided Intervention

Presentation Slide in PDF

Nobuhiko Hata, PhD

• Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School
• Technical Director, Image Guided Therapy Program, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• Director, Surgical Navigation and Robotics Laboratory
• L1-050, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• 75 Francis St., Boston, MA 02115

Image-guided surgery is a promising method of cure to achieve minimal trauma, fast patient recovery, and reduction of clinical cost. Images used for navigation can be either pre-operative diagnostic images and/or intra-operative images. We have also observed the prevalence of surgical robots in clinics in the past decade giving an impact on medical care. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the new dimension of minimally invasive surgery we can explore by integrating intra- and pre-operative imaging and surgical robots. The robot presented in my talk can compensate for the motion of the organs and guide the precision surgery by using intra-operative images as a digital map for robot control, without which we cannot perform image-guided intervention of dynamically moving organs. The need for image-guided robotics is further highlighted in our long-term clinical goal in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to perform therapies in contemporary high-field, closed-bore MRI scanners, 3D Ultrasound, CT, and/or PET/CT that provide better delineation of disease lesion, and that becoming to be prevalent in hospitals and clinics worldwide. I will present our pilot studies from MR-guided ablation and needle therapies where we studied tissue-needle interaction, biomechanical modeling of tissue deformation, and merit of needle guidance by a MR-compatible robot. Those studies will eventually migrate into our motion control method of a close-bore MRIcompatible robot that drives therapy needles toward the targets under intra-operative image guidance and control. For more information about my talk and exciting research opportunities at the Image Guided Therapy Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, visit www.snrlab.org , www.ncigt.org, and www.na-mic.org.

Be proactive

• Plan ahead
  • See someone's CV
    • http://catalyst.harvard.edu/
    • NIH biosketch
  • Write your CV now
  • Know how your CV should look 10y down the road, 5, 3, and at 6 month before PhD.

Know the facts

• Know the facts about Postdocs from the published reports
• Remove fear. Forget about your relatives and neighbors' suspicious eye.
• Be realistic what to expect
• don't think post-doc vs. industry. Majority of post-doc graduates to Industry.
• Good report
  • http://www.cpst.org/Postdoc.pdf)
  • NSF (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08307/nsf08307.pdf)

Take action

• The substance is always research accomplishments and skill you acquired through them.
• Learn to document/manage/plan/communicate are part of training.
• Inter-personal communication skill is important (collaboration is a key for success)

• Start networking when you think you are ready to promote yourself (after publishing journal paper or good conference paper)

• • useful link (http://www.biomedexperts.com/)
• Let people in your field know you
• Visit them. if you are shy and cannot talk to senior investigators, find some one junior at the laboratory.
• start applying for post-doc fellowship

• • Do not think your current supervisor will take care of your future job (post-doc).
• user career resources for graduate students seeking post-doc position
• National Postdoctoral Association (http://nationalpostdoc.org/home)
• How to become a post-doc (http://nationalpostdoc.org/graduate-students)

• Open question...is post-doc job or training (extension of school)?
  • Perhaps training in North America, maybe not elsewhere.
  • (Personally) I was lucky to choose large institution for place for post-doc training. It helped me to 1) maximize my exposure to colleagues in the field and 2) enjoy career development resources.

Promotion to Associate, Full Professor

• Harvard Medical School publishes promotion criteria
• http://www.hms.harvard.edu/fa/purplebook/index.html

• • Two or more years post-M.D. or post-Ph.D. having completed relevant training and demonstrated major commitment to original and independent basic or clinical research.Major contribution to and authorship of refereed, substantive publications exclusive of case reports or reviews. May be reports of basic science and/or clinical science.Recognition for excellence in and commitment to medical/graduate student education, research and/or clinical training or other teaching programs Evidence of high level of scientific competence in specialty area as evidenced by candidacy or membership in elected professional organization. May have leadership role in department or hospital. May have high level of accomplishment as a clinician.

• National Postdoctoral Association also has job hunting guide(http://nationalpostdoc.org/home)
  • Bottom line recognition by peers, i.e., impact-full work, peer reviewed papers and federal funding

Very Useful links

• http://postdoc.hms.harvard.edu/
• http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/
• Nature (http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/index.html)
  • Career kit http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/career-toolkit/index.html