NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (SVMH) have announced an agreement to work together to advance future medical-imaging technologies.

Under terms of the agreement, Ames’ BioVIS (Biological Visualization, Imaging and Simulation) Technology Center and SVMH will focus on enhancing the quality, accuracy and utility of medical imaging in animal and human models.

“Developing new, accurate medical knowledge will enable us to create revolutionary, noninvasive ways to analyze animals and humans,” says Ames Director G. Scott Hubbard.

NASA researchers will use their expertise in image processing and 3-D modeling to develop high-fidelity digital models of the anatomy and physiological functions of animals.

The standard medical-scanning techniques used today to image internal organs, bones, blood flow and neural function are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) scans. MRI produces high-quality images of the inside of the human body. CT generates a composite image of internal body structures from X-rays taken from different angles. By combining the data from CT, MRI and ultrasound, the newly developed Advanced Digital Animal Physiology Testbed (ADAPT) will enhance scientists’ understanding of cardiovascular anatomy and function without harming an animal.

G. Scott Hubbard, NASA Ames Center Director and Samuel W. Downing, President/Chief Executive Officer of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System sign Space Act Agreement for future imaging technology collaborative research.

“Once we’re able to fuse the different modalities into one image set, the next logical step is to take that information and apply it to human health. That will be a huge breakthrough in the field of diagnostic imaging,” says Thomas Burnsides, director of diagnostic imaging at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.

The hospital will provide NASA scientists with existing medical data and help evaluate the new imaging and segmentation process.

Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto, California, assists Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital with a diagnosis, viewing in real time an echo-cardiogram of an infant in Salinas.

“We take two-dimensional images from MRIs and CT scans and combine them into a three-dimensional model of the heart, for example,” says NASA’s Dr. Xander Twombly, the technical lead for ADAPT. “The ADAPT system also will model 3-D structures as they deform over time, allowing MRI and CT data to be combined with 4-D cardiac ultrasound. This will allow NASA to generate a continuous time-step model of the heart through a full beat cycle based on a series of data provided by the SVMH.”

All images that the SVMH provides to NASA will be from patients who have consented to participate in the research.  The hospital then will remove the names from each image sent to the BioVIS center, further protecting patient privacy.

“The biomedical modeling research funded through the Human Research Initiative is aimed at addressing the Bioastronautics Critical Path Roadmap that defines questions that must be addressed for humans to execute the new Vision for Space Exploration,” says Viktor Stolc, chief of the Gravitational Research Branch in Ames’ Life Sciences Division.

This agreement will be a valuable addition to established collaborations between Ames and hospitals across the country, including Stanford University Medical Center; Johns Hopkins; Beth Israel Medical Center; and the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.

“This mutually beneficial collaboration will accelerate technology development for our own exploration initiative, while allowing the medical community to provide better health care on Earth,” says Lisa Lockyer, chief of Ames’ Technology Partnerships Division.

For more information, contact Phil Herlth, Ames Research Center, (650) 604-0625, Philip.M.Herlth@nasa.gov.

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