NSF Award
1059292
Optical imaging is increasingly used in biomedical research for its unique advantages in terms of sensitivity, specificity, resolution, and versatility, as compared with other imaging modalities. Optical imaging spans multiple scales, from macroscopic imaging using bioluminescence and fluorescence which collect data at millimeter level to microscopic imaging at the micrometer level in both 2D and 3D spaces. Combined with high-throughput and staining techniques, optical images are often acquired in large numbers over several channels. As a result, for optical imaging methods to be of maximal use in biomedical research, computational enhancement of optical imaging has become a necessity for data management and effective information extraction.<br/><br/>This project initializes and adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to planning the creation of a community infrastructure for computationally enhanced optical imaging. The planning stage includes a larger workshop and smaller, targeted meetings, and discussions to solicit input from computational scientists, biomedical researchers, and engineers concerning the establishment, functionality, operational processes and user access of a computationally enhanced optical imaging infrastructure. The planned community infrastructure features a multi-institutional collaboration including hospitals, research laboratories, and universities. The infrastructure can provide students and researchers in biomedicine, mathematics, computer science, and engineering a platform for interaction and collaboration on development and use of computational techniques to model, process, quantify, and analyze various types of optical images. In addition the infrastructure offers training opportunities to students and early career researchers to apply their knowledge and skills in practice and to collaborate with investigators with different backgrounds.
