Radiology & Medical Physics
Radiology and Medical Physics
Research Themes
Through the partnership between Newcastle University and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust we are forging strong links between our academic imaging teams and researchers in radiology and medical physics.
We have a particularly strong link in the field of microvascular measurements.
Theme Lead (Radiology): Professor Phil White
Theme Lead (Medical Physics): Dr John Allen
Microvascular and vascular optics imaging research
Dr Allen (Lead Clinical Scientist / Senior Research Scientist) works with the following team members undertaking Microvascular and Vascular Optics Imaging Research using a vascular optics imaging facility at the Freeman Hospital, Medical Physics, which has thermal physiology capability.
- Costanzo Di Maria Costanzo (Associate Researcher)
- Audrey Macdonald (Visiting Lecturer)
- Sam Urwin (Trainee Clinical Scientist)
- Steven Burnett (Microvascular technologist)
Capillaroscopy research
Quantification of capillaroscopy images in connective tissue disease using measures of geometric and algorithmic complexity.
Reliability of nailfold capillary density measurement as a possible outcome measure for systemic sclerosis-related microangiopathy. European wide consortium including Italy, Denmark, London, Manchester (lead) and Newcastle upon Tyne.
Raynaud’s
Validation and imaging techniques comparison.
Validation and quantification of laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and thermography in patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis. UK multi-centre trial including London, Bath, Manchester (lead), Liverpool, Cardiff, Cambridge and Newcastle upon Tyne.
Microvascular endothelial function
Laser Doppler assessments of dermal circulatory changes in people with cancer and also those with coronary artery disease.
Thyroid eye disease
Novel thermal imaging measurement and analysis techniques for detecting inflammation in thyroid eye disease.
Vascular disease and diabetes
Developing techniques to predict onset of foot ulceration.
It is important to establish normative ranges – this has now been completed in a UK multi-centre clinical trial of a group of 103 subjects with data for use in subsequent diabetic foot assessments.
Dermal and epidermal imaging
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT with novel 3D reconstruction): nailfold imaging for subsequent exploration of microvessels.
Our researchers have contributed to the following conferences:
- World Microcirculation Congress, Kyoto 2015
- British Microcirculation Society, Manchester, 2015
- Graham Dinsdale, Tonia Moore, Joanne Manning, Andrea Murray, Michael Berks, Philip Tresadern, Christopher Taylor, Neil O’Leary, Christopher Roberts, John Allen, Marina Anderson, Maurizio Cutolo, Roger Hesselstrand, Kevin Howell, Paula Pyrkotsch, Francesca Ravera, Vanessa Smith, Alberto Sulli, Marie Wildt, Ariane Herrick: Reliability and validity of mean vessel width in capillaroscopy for evaluating systemic sclerosis-related Microangiopathy. Rheumatology (Oxford, England) 04/2015; 54(suppl 1):i34
- Dinsdale G, Moore T, Manning J, Murray A, Berks M, Tresadern P, Taylor C, O'Leary N, Roberts C, Allen J, Anderson M, Cutolo M, Hesselstrand R, Howell K, Pyrkotsch P, Ravera F, Smith V, Sulli A, Wildt M, Herrick A: Reliability of nailfold capillary density measurement as a possible outcome measure for systemic sclerosis-related microangiopathy. Arthritis & Rheumatology 10/2014; 66:S323
Books and book chapters
- Allen J, Di Maria C, Burnett S, Forrest I, Griffiths B: Imaging assessments of patients with suspected systemic sclerosis and associated inflammatory lung disease. Infrared imaging A casebook in clinical medicine, Edited by Francis Ring, Anna Jung, Janusz Zuber, 09/2015: chapter 18: Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-7503-1144-1
- Allen J, Oates C, Talbot D: Thermal imaging and its potential for arterio-venous fistula function assessment. Infrared imaging: A casebook in clinical medicine, Edited by Francis Ring, Anna Jung, Janusz Zuber, 09/2015: chapter 21: Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-7503-1144-1
- Allen J, Gorman G: Thermographic assessment of the presence of fatty tumours in myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibres. Infrared imaging: A casebook in clinical medicine, Edited by Francis Ring, Anna Jung, Janusz Zuber, 09/2015: chapter 13: Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-7503-1144-1
- Allen J, Robertshaw D, Leech N: Thermal imaging potential for assessing diabetic Charcot foot syndrome. Infrared imaging: A casebook in clinical medicine, Edited by Francis Ring, Anna Jung, Janusz Zuber, 09/2015: chapter 26: Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-7503-1144-1
- Allen J. Capillaroscopy in healthy subjects of different ages. Chapter in: Atlas of Capillaroscopy in Rheumatic Diseases. Cutolo M. Elsevier 2010
- Allen J. Development of a clinical thermal imaging and vascular optics measurement facility – the Newcastle upon Tyne experience. Innovative Research in Thermal Imaging for Biology and Medicine. Chapter submitted March 2015.
- Di Maria C, Perros P, Dickinson J, Allen J: Exploratory thermal and laser speckle contrast imaging measurements of eye inflammation in a case of thyroid eye disease. Infrared imaging: A casebook in clinical medicine, Edited by Francis Ring, Anna Jung, Janusz Zuber, 09/2015: chapter 7: Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-7503-1144-1
Journal articles
- Allen J, Howell K. Microvascular imaging: techniques and opportunities for clinical physiological measurements. Physiological Measurement 2014;35:R91-R141.
- Allen J, Young AL, Griffiths B. Subject preparation and thermal acclimatization prior to mild cold challenge testing using dynamic thermal imaging. Pan American Journal of Medical Thermology 2014 1:51-4
- Allen J, Oates CP, Chishti AD, Ahmed IAM, Talbot D, Murray A. Thermography and colour duplex ultrasound assessments of arterio-venous fistula function in renal patients. Physiol Meas 2006 27:51-60
- Anderson KN, Di Maria C, Allen J. Novel assessment of microvascular changes in idiopathic restless legs syndrome (Willis-Ekbom disease). Journal of Sleep Research, 2013;22:315–21. doi:10.1111/jsr.12025
- Benson E and Allen J. Illuminating light in medical diagnostics and treatment. British Science Week seminar on light. Portcullis House, Westminster. Science in Parliament 2015 72(2):40-1
- Di Maria C, Allen J, Dickinson J, Neoh C, Perros P. Novel thermal imaging analysis technique for detecting inflammation in thyroid eye disease. J Clin Endocrinol 2014;99:4600-4606.
- Green R J, Endersby S, Allen J, Adams J. Role of medical thermography in treatment of Frey’s syndrome with botulinum toxin A. The British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery 2014;52:90–2.
- Kumar N, Allen J, Murray A, Griffiths B. The assessment of single dose Sildenafil Citrate (Viagra) in the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon in patients with systemic sclerosis. J Rheumatology 2006 33:1918-9
- Richards RE, Allen J, Burnett S, Howell KJ, Smith RE. Evaluation of three thermal imagers for skin temperature measurement using a blackbody source and a spatial resolution test object. Thermology International 2013 23:17-23