Sandy Napel

Administrative Appointments

• co-Section Chief, Information Science in Imaging at Stanford (ISIS) (2009 - present)
• co-Director, Radiology 3D and Quantitative Imaging Laboratory (1996 - present)

Honors and Awards

• College of Fellows, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) (November 2009)

Professional Education

Postdoctoral Advisees

Christopher Parham

Internet Links

• Information Science in Imaging at Stanford (ISIS)

Industry Relationships

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Current Research Interests

My primary interests are in developing diagnostic and therapy-planning applications and strategies for the acquisition, visualization, and quantitation of multi-dimensional medical imaging data. Examples are: creation of three-dimensional images of blood vessels using CT, visualization of complex flow within blood vessels using MR, computer-aided detection and characterization of lesions (e.g., colonic polyps, pulmonary nodules) from cross-sectional image data, visualization and automated assessment of 4D ultrasound data, and fusion of images acquired using different modalities (e.g., CT and MR). I have also been involved in developing and evaluating techniques for exploring cross-sectional imaging data from an internal perspective, i.e., virtual endoscopy (including colonoscopy, angioscopy, and bronchoscopy), and in the quantitation of structure parameters, e.g., volumes, lengths, medial axes, and curvatures. I am also interested in creating workable solutions to the problem of "data explosion," i.e., how to look at the thousands of images generated per examination using modern CT and MR scanners. My most recent focus is includes making image features computer-accessible, to facilitate content-based retrieval of similar lesions, and prediction of molecular phenotype, response to therapy, and prognosis from imaging features. I am co-director of the Radiology 3D and Quantitative Imaging Lab, providing clinical service to the Stanford and local community, and co-Director of ISIS (Information Sciences in Imaging @ Stanford), whose mission is to advance the clinical and basic sciences in radiology, while improving our understanding of biology and the manifestations of disease, by pioneering methods in the information sciences that integrate imaging, clinical and molecular data.

Publications

• NOTE: This list is not complete Instead, see CV link at top of page, NOTE: This list is not complete.
• A comprehensive descriptor of shape: method and application to content-based retrieval of similar appearing lesions in medical images. Xu J, Faruque J, Beaulieu CF, Rubin D, Napel S. J Digit Imaging. 2012; 25 (1): 121-8
• Automated temporal tracking and segmentation of lymphoma on serial CT examinations. Xu J, Greenspan H, Napel S, Rubin DL. Med Phys. 2011; 38 (11): 5879-86
• Automated tracing of the adventitial contour of aortoiliac and peripheral arterial walls in CT angiography (CTA) to allow calculation of non-calcified plaque burden. Raman B, Raman R, Rubin GD, Napel S. J Digit Imaging. 2011; 24 (6): 1078-86
• Managing biomedical image metadata for search and retrieval of similar images. Korenblum D, Rubin D, Napel S, Rodriguez C, Beaulieu C. J Digit Imaging. 2011; 24 (4): 739-48