Dr. Nicolas (Nikolaos) Karakatsanis, Ass.Prof. at Cornell University in New York, to speak at ECE-NTUA on October 22, 2019, at 14:00


Dr.Nicolas (Nikolaos) A. Karakatsanis, graduate of our School and Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the Department of Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University in New York, will give a lecture entitled “Quantitative and cost-effective Positron Emission Tomography: towards multi-parametric molecular imaging and utilization of sparsely-distributed detectors configurations” on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at 14:00 at the Multimedia Amphitheater of the National Technical University of Athens Central Library. The event is organized by IEEE Greece Section in cooperation with IEEE NTUA EMB Chapter and IEEE NTUA Student Branch and the Biomedical Simulations and Imaging (BioSim) Laboratory of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of NTUA.

Abstract: Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has been established as a highly sensitive molecular imaging modality capable of providing non-invasive, diagnostic and treatment response assessments by quantifying the activity of specific molecular processes underlying a spectrum of oncologic, cardiovascular and neurologic diseases. In this seminar talk, we will initially present the basic principles of data acquisition, image reconstruction and quantification in clinical standard-of-care PET exam protocols. Then, we will discuss clinically adoptable dynamic PET acquisition protocols coupled with robust radiotracer graphical analysis and kinetic modeling methods to extract additional PET quantitative features related to the spatio-temporal (4D) activity of the targeted molecular processes. The new multi-parametric molecular imaging method is aiming to enhance PET-driven diagnostic and treatment response assessments. Finally, we will complete our clinical PET review with the presentation of recent cost-effective PET instrumentation solutions to extend the limited (~26cm) axial field-of-view (AFOV) of current generation human PET systems by a factor of more than two (~55cm), without significantly increasing the PET system’s manufacturing cost. This novel technology exploits 4D PET Time-of-Flight acquisitions with a sparsely-distributed detectors configuration in continuous bed motion to enable truly simultaneous imaging of multiple organs at large distance to each other, such as that of the heart and the brain, at a clinically affordable cost.

Short Bio: Dr. Nicolas (Nikolaos) A. Karakatsanis is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the Department of Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University in New York, NY. His current interests focus mainly on quantitative PET/MR and PET/CT imaging utilizing advanced PET tracer kinetic modeling and MR-driven motion compensation strategies for enhancing the theranostic value of molecular imaging in cardiology, oncology and neurology. Dr. Karakatsanis is also appointed as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York to continue his work on cardiovascular PET/MR research which he started as a research scientist at the same institution (2015-2017). In addition, he had previously attended postdoctoral research fellow positions in the Divisions of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland (2014-2015) and Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA (2011-2013). Dr. Karakatsanis received Master and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2005 and 2010, respectively, from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. His PhD thesis was on the optimization of preclinical and clinical PET imaging systems performance and data acquisition protocols using Monte Carlo simulations. He has authored and co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and over 70 refereed proceedings in international meetings and conferences. Dr. Karakatsanis is a member of the Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) organization and the elected secretary official (2019-2021) of the society’s Physics, Instrumentation and Data Sciences Council (PIDSC). He is also a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and elected (2017-2020) in the Nuclear Medical Imaging Sciences Council (NMISC) of the IEEE Nuclear Plasma and Sciences (NPSS) society. Dr. Karakatsanis has been certified by the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM) with a specialization in Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation.

Timeframe of the event:

13:15 – 13:45 Arrival and Networking

13:45 – 14:00 Welcome Address by IEEE

14:00 – 15:00 Lecture by Nikolas Karakatsanis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Cornell University

15:00 – 15:30 Discussion and networking