The Clinical Applications of CT Perfusion

October 27, 2025 
1-2pm ET   

Dr. Ting-Yim Lee 

BSc - Physics & Mathematics, University of Hong Kong MSc, PhD - Radiation Physics, University of London FCCPM - Diagnostic Radiology

Dr. Lee’s research focuses on enhancing CT and PET diagnostic capabilities through innovative dynamic imaging techniques. A cornerstone of his contributions is the Johnson-Wilson-Lee (JWL) model(1), which transforms complex hemodynamic calculations into clinically actionable insights. Licensed to GE Healthcare since 1999, his CT Perfusion software is routinely used for stroke diagnosis as brain perfusion imaging is recommended by American Heart Association guidelines. This technology has expanded organ-specific perfusion imaging beyond the brain to liver, pancreas, kidneys, and musculoskeletal system, while creating new diagnostic pathways for cerebrovascular, oncologic, and cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Lee co-led a large, multi-center clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from 2011 to 2014, using CT Perfusion to monitor for early treatment response of advanced ovarian cancer patients(2). This trial remains the only successful prospectively designed study where CT Perfusion biomarkers identified early treatment response, likely benefiting from CT Perfusion’s reliability under poor SNR conditions. His recent adaptations of CT Perfusion pharmacokinetic models for PET dynamic imaging have enabled accurate cancer detection in 22-minute scans, a paradigm shift from traditional hour-long protocol(3) as well as personalized dosimetry for radioligand therapy(4).

(1)St Lawrence KS, Lee TY. An adiabatic approximation to the tissue homogeneity model for water exchange in the brain: I. Theoretical derivation. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 1998 Dec;18(12):1365-77. doi: 10.1097/00004647-199812000-00011. PMID: 9850149. (2)Ng CS, Zhang Z, Lee SI, Marques HS, Burgers K, Su F, Bauza J, Mannel RS, Walker JL, Huh WK, Rubin SC, DiSilvestro P, Martin LP, Chan JK, Bookman MA, Coleman RL, Lee TY. CT Perfusion as an Early Biomarker of Treatment Efficacy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer: An ACRIN and GOG Study. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Jul 15;23(14):3684-3691. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-1859. Epub 2017 Feb 7. PMID:28174234; PMCID: PMC5720368. (3)Yang DM*, Alfano R, Bauman G, Thiessen JD, Chin J, Pautler S, Moussa M, Gomez JA, Rachinsky I, Gaed M, Chung KJ*, Ward A, Lee TY. Short-duration dynamic [18F]DCFPyL PET and CT perfusion imaging to localize dominant intraprostatic lesions in prostate cancer: validation against digital histopathology and comparison to [18F]DCFPyL PET/MR at 120 minutes. EJNMMI Res. 2021 Oct 15;11(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s13550-021-00844-0. PMID: 34652551; PMCID: PMC8519985. (4)Duong TT*, De Sarno D*, Fakir H, Bauman G, Martinov M, Thomson R, Lee TY. A Proof-of-concept study of personalized dosimetry for targeted radioligand therapy using pre-treatment diagnostic PET/CT and Monte Carlo Simulation. Front. Oncol. 15:1600821. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1600821

Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging for Cancer Therapy Response

November 24, 2025
1-2pm ET

Dr. Michael Kolios

Professor, Department of Physics Associate Dean, Research, Innovation & External Partnerships Toronto Metropolitan University ORCID: 0000-0002-9994-8293 Dr. Michael Kolios is a Professor of Physics and Associate Dean of Research, Innovation & External Partnerships in the Faculty of Science at Toronto Metropolitan University. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to biomedical ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, with particular focus on high-frequency and quantitative ultrasound (QUS), microbubble and nanobubble dynamics, and photoacoustic biomarkers for cancer therapy monitoring.

His interdisciplinary research program combines experimental and computational approaches to study the biophysics of soft tissues and cells under ultrasound exposure. He collaborates extensively with clinical and industry partners (including Sunnybrook, St. Michael’s Hospital and VisualSonics) to develop translational imaging technologies for cancer treatment, vascular imaging, and targeted drug delivery.

Dr. Kolios has received numerous accolades, including the IEEE Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonics Award (2023), the Joseph H. Holmes Pioneer Award in Basic Science from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), and election as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He serves on NIH and CIHR review panels, and on editorial boards of leading journals in the field. He has supervised over 60 graduate students and maintains a vibrant research program at the intersection of physics, engineering, and medicine.

Dr. Daniela Thorwarth

2015 Full Professor and Research Group Leader, Biomedical Physics, University of Tübingen, Germany
2013 ERC Starting Grant 'bio-iRT: Biologically individualized radiation theraoy'
2013 Registration as Medical Physics Expert (MPE), Germany
2008 PhD in Medical Physics, University of Tübingen, Germany
2003 MSc in Physics and Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Germany and Ecole Centrale Paris, France

2022 - Chair, ESTRO physics committee
2019 - Editor-in-Chief, Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology (www.phiro.science)

Applications of PET/MRI in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia

March 30, 2026
1-2pm ET

Dr. Reggie Taylor

Dr. Reggie Taylor completed his undergrad and PhD in Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario. His graduate work involved developing a custom functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy pulse sequence to examine the dynamics of glutamate neurotransmission in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder using Canada’s only human 7T MRI. He then spent his postdoctoral studies assisting with various projects on a PET/MRI at the Lawson Health Research Institute. He is currently a physicist and scientist for University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal, and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Departments of Physics and Neuroscience at Carleton University. His current research projects focus on using novel PET and MRI approaches to study the glutamatergic pathways in schizophrenia, and the brain waste clearance pathways in Alzheimer’s disease.