January 2000

HEALTH:
Measuring radiation's effects

  Xie “George” Xu, assistant professor of nuclear engineering and engineering physics at Rensselaer Polytechnictechnic Institute, has created a 3-D virtual man that is the world’s most sophisticated simulated model for measuring radiation dosage to specific organs.
  “Visible Photographic Man” (VIP-Man) is so sophisticated it can model the effects of radiation on the skin, lens of the eye, optic nerve, GI-tract mucous membranes, and bone marrow. These areas, which are highly susceptible to radiation, were previously too minute to model accurately.
  “What we’re striving for are highly accurate dosage readings that can be targeted to specific organs in a 3-D model that resembles a real human,” Xu said. “VIP-Man takes into account, for example, bone density and how it differs from lung tissue.”
  Xu’s work is expected to revolutionize radiation dosimetry related to biomedical sciences and
engineering. It will allow patient CAT scans and MRI images to be coupled directly with a computer simulation program for more accurate treatment planning for diseases that require radiation
therapy—such as cancer.
  For his work on VIP-Man, Xu received a 1999 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation’s biomedical engineering program. Xu’s research is important to radiation safety in the nuclear industry, medical treatment planning, and space radiation risk assessment for NASA.
  The VIP-Man model was generated from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance images (MRI), and photo images and data provided by The Visible Human Project from the National Library of Medicine (www..nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html ) .

CONTACT: Theresa Bourgeois, (518) 276-2840, bourgt@rpi.edu

Top