Centre for In Vivo Imaging

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.

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.

Cancer

Bowel imaging and markers for post-operative success.

Renal

Techniques can be used to assess the degree of vascular steel from the hands.

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.

Conferences

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

Publications

Books and book chapters

Journal articles