Virtual Phantoms CEO Dr. George Xu presents keynote address to CIRMS meeting
On April 13, 2022, Prof. George Xu delivered a 45-minutes capstone talk entitled ” Radiotherapy Plan QA using Deep-CNN based Multi-OAR Auto segmentation and GPU-accelerated Monte Carlo Dose Check ” for the CIRMS annual conference. Professor Xu introduced the history of computational phantoms, the VirtualDose software (For tracking patient organ doses from CT and interventional radiology procedures), DeepViewer software (an AI-based automatic multi-organ segmentation tool for radiation therapy) and ArcherQA software (the fast Monte Carlo simulation software for radiation treatment based on GPU acceleration). CIRMS（Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards）is the highest academic institution in the field of ionizing radiation measurements and standards in the United States. Its leaders are top experts from industry, academia and government. Through publication of “Needs” report, CIRMS sets national priority in research and development pertaining to ionizing radiation measurement and standardization covering nuclear energy, industrial irradiation, medicine, and nuclear security in the United States. Prof. Xu was elected the President (1999-2000) of the CIRMS, and was chosen to receive the Randall S. Caswell Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution in...
read moreDr. Xu Presents Webinar to International Organization for Medical Physics – Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Virtual Phantoms CEO Dr. X George Xu has been invited to present a webinar to the IOMP entitled “New Tools of Phantoms, Monte Carlo Calculations, and AI for Medical Physics Applications” on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. He will speak about: Estimation of organ doses in medical physics depends on computational phantoms and Monte Carlo calculations ─ two tools that have seen major advancement recently. Phantoms have evolved from the 1st-generation stylized phantoms to 2nd-generation voxel phantoms, and to 3rd-generation boundary representative (BREP) phantoms. Aided with the latest deep-learning image segmentation tools, patient-specific phantoms can be created consisting of organ outlines ready for Monte Carlo calculations. And GPU-based Monte Carlo codes can reduce dose computing time from hours to less than one minute. This presentation will cover: (1) Historical review of computational phantoms and Monte Carlo codes, (2) Development of patient-specific phantoms using an automatic multi-organ segmentation tool, DeepViewer, that is based on neural convolutional network (called U-Net) , (3) Development of rapid Monte Carlo dose calculation code, Archer, that is based on nVidia GPU co-processors and virtual-source-modeling of medical accelerators. Examples in medical imaging dose (CT, PET/CT) and radiation treatment will be discussed. To join the webinar – register...
read moreLow-dose CT useful in COVID-19 assessment
According to a recent article by AuntMinnie.com, chest CT of 1 mSv or less can accurately and rapidly assess COVID-19 infection in emergency room patients, especially for those who have had symptoms longer than 48 hours. These findings are reported on April 21, 2020 in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging by Dangis et al. Dr. Anthony Dangis of Imelda Hospital in Bonheiden, Belgium who is the corresponding author of the study says: “[We found] an estimated radiation dose reduction by a factor of five,” the group wrote. “Given the widespread use of chest CT for COVID-19 detection, our results demonstrate the feasibility of using low-dose chest CT to achieve an important reduction in radiation dose on a population level during this pandemic.” Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing is currently the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19, but its sensitivity can be as low as 70%, the group noted. Chest CT offers an additional diagnostic tool for the disease, with a sensitivity of more than 90%, according to some studies. Example CT images in two patients with COVID-19. Axial (A) and coronal (B) CT imaging in an 85-year-old woman presenting with dyspnea and fever for three days. CT shows typical early COVID-19 findings with bilateral subpleural areas of ground-glass opacities (arrows). Effective radiation dose was 0.52 mSv. Axial (C) and coronal (D) CT images in a 41-year-old woman presenting with a cough and fever for 14 days. CT shows typical late COVID-19 findings with multifocal bilateral subpleural areas of consolidation (arrows). Effective radiation dose was 0.53 mSv. Images and caption courtesy of the RSNA. But CT exams can impart radiation dose to patients — and interpretation of CT images can take time. So how low can CT radiation dose go and still be diagnostic, and how quickly can CT reports be turned around? To find out, Dangis’s team conducted a study of 192 emergency room patients with COVID-19 symptoms who underwent low-dose submillisievert chest CT as well as RT-PCR testing between March 14 and 24. The CT protocol consisted of the following: 100 kVp, 20 mAs, a pitch of 1.2, and gantry rotation time of 0.5 seconds. This team of researchers observe that, of the 192 patients, 43.2% were positive for COVID-19 and 56.8% were negative. Mean patient age was 62, but those patients with the illness were older than those without it (67 years compared with 57 years) and more likely to present with fever (68.7% compared with 45.9%). The group found that low-dose submillisievert chest CT performed well across a variety of measures, especially in patients with symptoms for more than 48 hours. Dangis and colleagues also found that the mean effective radiation dose for their low-dose chest CT protocol was 0.56 mSv. Median time between the acquisition of the CT images and the patient report was 25 minutes (range: 13-49 minutes). Intra- and interreader agreement for the CT exams was 0.96 and 0.95. Low-dose chest CT appears to be an effective additional tool to RT-PCR for diagnosing patients with suspected COVID-19 infection, according to the researchers. “Low-dose chest CT may play a complementary role to RT-PCR for the early triage of patients with possible COVID-19 infection,” they...
read moreDr. Xu to receive the 2020 AAPM Quimby Award
Dr. George Xu has been selected to receive the 2020 AAPM Edith H. Quimby Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Physics (https://news.rpi.edu/approach/2020/01/16).
read moreMeet Virtual Phantoms at AAPM 2019
Dr. George Xu and Dr. Peter Caracappa represented Virtual Phantoms at the Annual Conference of the American Association of Medical Physicists in San Antonio, Texas in July of 2019. They demonstrated new features in VirtaulDoseCT and VirtualDoseIR. They also presented several scientific oral and poster papers that introduced the GPU-based Monte Carlo dose engine, ARCHER, for accuracy and near real-time dose calculations for patients receiving radiation...
read moreMeet Virtual Phantoms at RSNA 2018
Dr. Peter Caracappa, Virtual Phantoms Chief Technology Officer, will be at the RSNA 2018 meeting in Chicago, IL. He will be available for consultation, and to perform demonstrations of our popular tools VirtualDoseCT and VirtualDoseIR. Set up your appointment to experience the tools and discuss upcoming features! Arrange appointments by email: sales@virtualphantoms.com. See you in...
read moreVirtual Phantoms has reseller agreements in China and Japan
Interested customers in China and Japan now have local partners to contact to inquire about purchase of subscriptions to VirtualDose! By engaging with local distributors, customers can access the same VirtualDose product, but be able to interact with trusted companies that understand the local market and can provide fast and understandable front-line support. Visit their websites to learn more! ...
read moreSee VirtualDose at RSNA 2017
Virtual Phantoms Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Peter Caracappa, will be at the RSNA 2017 meeting in Chicago, IL, and available for demonstrations of the industry-leading VirtualDoseCT, and the newly released VirtualDoseIR. Set up your appointment to see the tools in action, and get a preview of some exciting new upcoming features! Arrange appointments by email: sales@virtualphantoms.com. See you in...
read moreVirtual Phantoms, Inc Announces the Release of VirtualDose-IR, a New Tool For Organ Dose Data from Interventional Radiology Procedures
(31st July 2017) —Virtual Phantoms, Inc of Albany, NY USA today announced the release of VirtualDoseIR, a tool for assessing organ dose from Interventional Radiology procedures. Like its industry-leading product for computed tomography, VirtualDoseCT, VirtualDoseIR combines a family of anatomically realistic human phantoms, advanced Monte Carlo simulations, and an easy to use web interface to provide realistic calculations of dose to a diverse patient population. Advanced models used for organ dose simulationsVirtual Patient technology, a well-tested family of anatomically correct phantoms, advanced GPU-based Monte Carlo simulation, and innovative SaaS programming techniques, that has made VirtualDoseCT so successful. It enables users to accurately compute doses to radiosensitive organs for a broad range of the patient population, including those outside the “average” body size, pediatric patients from newborn through adolescence, and patients who are pregnant. IR – New Tools for a growing trend In recent years, interventional radiology (IR) procedures have expanded beyond the traditional cardiovascular applications to many other specialty areas, and so their overall use has increased significantly, today contributing more than 14% of all medical radiation dose in the US. Long exposure times can subject patients to acute injuries to the skin and other tissues, but the large accumulated doses pose a long-term radiation risk that can be monitored and managed. With continued growth, it is likely that regulatory attention will turn to IR in the future. VirtualDose provides an important tool to understanding and managing IR dose. “We are very excited to be making this important expansion of the VirtualDose product line. When we began, CT was far and away received the most attention in terms of patient dose. In recent years, Interventional Radiology has grown in importance to the point that it has received much more focus,” said Dr. George Xu, founder and CEO of Virtual Phantoms, Inc. “We know that VirtualDoseIR will become an invaluable tool for assessing clinical practice of IR and improving patient safety.” Useful features for clinical application VirtualDoseIR has been designed with clinical practice in mind. Our web interface allows the user to easily select the parameters of the procedure setup, including field size, kVp, filtration, position, and direction. As these are selected, the display updates to provide a visualization of the exam field on the patient to ensure it matches the procedure performed. And because different machines may track different information, the system will accept x-ray output in terms of Dose-Area-Product or air kerma rate and exposure time (both commonly encountered measurements). Sample display screens from the VirtualDoseIR software About VPI Virtual Phantoms, Inc. was founded in 2009 by faculty members from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in collaboration with the University of Florida, with an exclusive license of the “Virtual Patient” technologies developed from nearly 20 years of research at RPI and UF in the field of nuclear and radiological engineering. Combining a large collection of anatomically accurate models of patients of various ages and sizes and sophisticated “Monte Carlo” simulation methods originally developed for nuclear weapons research at Los Alamos in the 1940s, VPI is recognized as a world leader in the modeling of ionizing radiation, radiation safety, and medical/occupational radiation dosimetry. For more information about Virtual Phantoms or VirtualDose, visit www.virtualphantoms.com or call or email Peter Caracappa, VPI Chief Technology Officer; +1...
read moreINFINITT Healthcare and Virtual Phantoms, Inc Announce Partnership to Add Organ Dose Data to DoseM Radiation Dose Monitoring Software
(25th July 2017) — INFINITT Healthcare, of Seoul, Republic of Korea (South Korea), and Virtual Phantoms, Inc of Albany, NY USA announced today that they have entered into a partnership to bring the VirtualDose™CT organ dose tool to the INFINITT radiation dose monitoring solution, DoseM. With this partnership, INFINITT further enhances their software solution for collecting and managing dose data and improving patient safety. Patient safety in medical imaging is a priority INFINITT DoseM is a web-based radiation dose management system, which automatically extracts, stores, and manages dose information from radiation devices and can be interfaced with hospital information systems (e.g., HIS, EMR, PACS, etc) to make dose information accessible as part of the patient record. INFINITT DoseM can also automatically collect dose information and manage doses efficiently by using Diagnostic Reference Levels(DRL) information. Dose tracking has become a high priority in medical imaging as mandates for the capture and analysis of patients’ exposure to ionizing radiation expand. By adding patient organ dose to a tool that enables capture and archiving of dose data from multiple modalities and a variety of vendors, the data necessary for a realistic estimate of cumulative risk from ionizing radiation exposure is finally available. Advanced models are used for organ dose simulations This agreement makes the Virtual Patient technology, a well-tested family of anatomically correct phantoms, advanced GPU-based Monte Carlo simulation, and innovative SaaS programming techniques, available to INFINITT customers. It enables users to accurately compute doses to radiosensitive organs for a broad range of the patient population, including those outside the “average” body size, and pediatric patients from newborn through adolescence. The VirtualDoseCT calculation engine integrates seamlessly with the DoseM software, providing improved information without extra effort on the part of the user. “We are very happy INFINITT Healthcare has selected the VirtualDose technology to provide organ dose data and improve patient safety and information. With this, our first partnership with an Asia-based company, we are growing the global impact of VirtualDoseCT” said Dr. George Xu, founder and CEO of Virtual Phantoms, Inc. Sample display screens from the INFINITT DoseM software ABOUT INFINITT Healthcare INFINITT Healthcare is a global provider of medical imaging and information systems. Being founded in 2002 and listed on Kosdaq in 2010, the company is driving the advancement of healthcare IT by delivering its award-winning products and services to 5,200+ healthcare institutions in more than 51 countries through its global business units and distributers. In the United States, INFINITT Healthcare products are distributed through INFINITT North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of INFINITT Healthcare. INFINITT’s enterprise imaging solutions include RIS, PACS, Cardiology Suite, Mammography PACS, Dental PACS and 3D/Advanced Visualization software, all operating on a unified platform. INFINITT PACS has been a category leader in Best in KLAS Awards: Software and Services eight times since 2009: 2009-2012 in the Community Hospital category, 2013 in the Ambulatory category, 2015/2016 in both Community and Ambulatory categories, and in the Community Hospital category again in 2017. For more information, call 877-387-6960 or visit www.infinittna.com. About VPI Virtual Phantoms, Inc. was founded in 2009 by faculty members from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in collaboration with the University of Florida, with an exclusive license of the “Virtual Patient” technologies developed from nearly 20 years of research at RPI and UF...
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