MSBI Curriculum

Instructor: David Saloner, PhD

Term Offered: Fall
Classification: Core
Units: 1 (unit will contribute to the spring quarter)

Overview:  This course will provide an overview of elements of professional behavior in the conduct of clinical and research imaging studies.  Issues around the ethical conduct of research; authorship; data management; interpersonal engagement; and preparation and presentation of research results will be discussed in the context of the Academic Medical Center.  The course will include hour long seminars, participation in monthly research forums and in the Departmental Annual Research Symposium.

Instructor: Peder Larson, PhD
Term Offered: Fall
Classification: Core
Units: 4

Overview:  This course aims to teach the basic principles behind magnetic resonance imaging.  The topics taught will include: physics of magnetic resonance, including resonance, excitation, and relaxation; image formation with excitation pulses and gradients fields; image reconstruction via the Fourier Transform (including a review of the Fourier Transform); MRI scanner hardware, including magnets and coils; image contrast; artifacts due to flow, motion, and field variations.  Time-permitting, modern MRI techniques will also be covered, including fast imaging methods and multi-coil configurations.

Instructor: Youngho Seo, PhD
Term Offered: Fall
Classification: Core
Units: 4

Overview:  This course is designed to provide the basic knowledge base to understand the physical principles of x-ray computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Through “real” examples of how x-ray CT, PET, and SPECT are used in medical diagnosis and disease management, we will combine physical and mathematical foundations with actual applications for thorough understanding of the principles of these imaging techniques. Principles and developments of advanced CT, PET, and SPECT imaging technologies will be also discussed as integral parts of this course.

Instructors: Henry VanBrocklin, PhD
Term Offered: Winter
Classification: Core
Units: 3

Overview:  
As nuclear and optical imaging requires introduction of exogenous tracers to highlight the desired molecular pathway, this course will introduce the basic principles of these imaging modalities and cover all aspects of probe development. The following topics will be highlighted: the fundamental principles of PET, SPECT and optical imaging, isotope production, chemistry of PET, SPECT and optical imaging agents, molecular imaging in cell and molecular biology and applications of molecular imaging in normal tissue and disease characterization as well as drug development. Elements of probe development from target selection, biological activity, preclinical models and testing, and translation to humans including regulatory aspects will be covered.

Instructor: David Saloner, PhD
Term Offered: Winter
Classification: Core
Units: 3

Overview:  This course will introduce the physical principles of ultrasound and its interaction with tissue.  Ultrasound hardware and imaging modes, including Doppler flow imaging, will be explored and demonstrated through real world examples. Therapeutic ultrasound will subsequently be introduced.  Topics will include the effects of ultrasound and heating on tissue, acoustic modeling, bioheat transfer, treatment monitoring and feedback control.  Evolving therapeutic approaches, including ultrasound and heat mediated drug and gene delivery, will be introduced.

Instructor: Susan Noworolski, PhD
Term Offered: Spring
Classification: Core
Units: 3

Overview:  This course will introduce principles of clinical study design as they apply to imaging studies for disease screening, diagnosis and treatment assessment.  The course will cover aspects of imaging studies related to statistical design, imaging methodologies and implementation, technology standardization and quality assessment, patient recruitment, enrollment and coordination of clinical care, regulatory aspects and cost factors. These topics will be compared and contrasted for different imaging modalities, disease systems and clinical outcomes.

Instructors: Alastair Martin, PhD; Youngho Seo, PhD
Term Offered: Fall
Classification: Core
Units: 2

Overview:  This laboratory course accompanies two core lecture courses BI 201 (Principles of MR Imaging) and BI 202 (Physical Principles of CT, PET, and SPECT Imaging) that are offered in the same quarter. The goal of this laboratory course is to equip students with hands-on experience in the basic operational techniques of MR, CT, PET, and SPECT equipment. The data from the laboratory will be analyzed for the investigation of basic scanner performance parameters. Attendance and laboratory reports will be required.

Instructor: Jeremy Gordon, PhD
Term Offered: Spring
Classification: Elective
Units: 3

Overview:  This course will focus on the practical implementation of the basic MR principles acquired in BI 201. During the course, a basic MR pulse sequence will be developed using GE’s programming language EPIC (Environment for Pulse programming In C). Every week, there will be one lecture with an introduction to a module and one session at the scanner implementing this module. At the end of the course, the participant should be familiar with all parts of the scanner and should be able to run and modify pulse sequences. Some basics knowledge of the C programming language is helpful but not required.

Instructor: Staff
Term Offered: Spring, Summer
Classification: Elective
Units: 3
Prerequisite(s): Biomedical Imaging 209
Restrictions: None
Activities: Independent Study

Overview:  This independent study program is aimed at providing students in the Master's of Science in Biomedical Imaging (MBI) program an opportunity to perform research in an established imaging research laboratory. The course is offered in the final quarter of the MBI program and will allow students to apply imaging concepts in a practical setting. Students will work under the supervision of a faculty member and undertake independent research of a scope that can be achieved within 10 weeks.

Instructors: Yan Li, PhD
Term Offered: Spring
Classification: Elective
Units: 3

Overview:  This course on advanced Neurological imaging will introduce state of the art techniques used for diagnoses, clinical trials, and in neuroscience studies of the brain. The course will include structural and functional brain mapping techniques including morphometry, diffusion MRI fiber tracking, functional MRI, perfusion MRI, and MEG. Secondly we will introduce quantitative techniques that are used to improved characterization of neurological tissue including MR relaxometry, Magnetization Transfer Ration imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Phase Imaging and MR Spectroscopic Imaging.

Instructors: David Saloner, PhD
Term Offered: Winter
Classification: Elective
Units: 3

Overview:  This course will build on the fundamental principles developed in the core imaging courses.  The presentation of cardiovascular disease will be outlined and the role of imaging in elucidating the presence and extent of different disease conditions will be defined.  The relative capabilities of different imaging modalities in application to assessment of these conditions will be discussed.  The role of imaging during interventional procedures, either utilizing devices or for delivery of pharmacologics, will be considered.  The capabilities of each modality in elucidating geometric morphology and functional performance will be covered.  The ability to determine underlying mechanisms of cardiovascular dysfunction utilizing imaging tools will be explored.  This will include identification of the composition of the vascular wall and of cardiac structures, the presentation and impact of hemodynamics, the role of inflammation, and the link of these descriptors to the evolution of cardiovascular disease.  An analysis of common imaging artifacts will be included, and the use of postprocessing tools for improved visualization will be presented.

Instructors: Duygu Tosun, PhD
Term Offered: Fall
Classification: Core
Units: 2

Overview:  This course covers basic digital image processing techniques used for the analysis of images. Topics include spatial and frequency domain filtering (for improving the visibility of significant structures as well as a pre-processing step for subsequent automated processing), image restoration, introduction to wavelet image processing, morphological operators (e.g. erosion, dilation) and their uses (e.g. boundary extraction, extraction of connected components), image segmentation and pattern recognition. 30% of the course grade is based on projects which require students to program image processing techniques and apply them to images (usually of their choosing). Students need a mathematical background and computer programming experience is strongly recommended.

Instructors: Janine Lupo, PhD; An Vu, PhD
Term Offered: Winter
Classification: Core
Units: 3

Overview:  This course features practical image processing tasks that are commonly performed with medical images.  Examples include the analysis of functional MRI data, cardiovascular function analysis and image registration. Each week, a new application will be introduced starting from background theory and finishing with hands on image processing.  Students are required to have completed BI 260 prior to taking this course.

Instructor: Michael Evans, PhD
Term Offered: Spring
Classification: Elective
Units: 3

Overview:  This course will utilize the basics learn in the core imaging courses and address the application of different imaging methods to inform on cancer. Molecular and genetic factors leading to cancer will be introduced.  Aspects of the disease that lend themselves to anatomic, functional and molecular imaging will be discussed. The use of established and emerging approaches to image cancer in cell, tissue and animal models will be presented. Major cancer types and the imaging methods most commonly used in the clinic will then be presented and discussed by established UCSF clinicians.

Instructors: Susan Noworolski, PhD and Galateia Kazakia, PhD
Term Offered: Winter
Classification: Elective
Units: 3

Overview:  This course will focus on imaging of the body, including organs and tissues in the abdomen, the pelvis, and the musculoskeletal system. It will build on the fundamental principles developed in the core imaging courses. Particular challenges of imaging the body will be covered along with methods to address them. Quantitative imaging metrics of tissue composition and function will be covered as well as clinical applications.