BCIG SPEAKER EVENT:
“Image Processing Projects at NLM”
Clinical
Center (Building 10) Medical Board Room (Room 2C116)
ABSTRACT:
The Communications Engineering Branch of NLM’s Lister Hill Center conducts
research and development in digital imaging and machine learning techniques
motivated by NLM's mission-critical tasks. This talk will give an overview of
ongoing projects, including: automated extraction of bibliographic data from
medical articles (to build MEDLINEŽ); imaging and database tools for research
into the role of Human Papillomavirus in cervical cancer (in collaboration with
NCI); systems for long term preservation of digitized historic documents;
content-based image indexing and retrieval (CBIR) techniques applied to spinal
x-ray and uterine cervix images; NLP techniques to automatically extract outcome
statements from medical articles to augment electronic health records; the
design of multimedia-rich interactive publications that hold promise for a new
generation of scientific publishing; animated virtual books to bring rare
volumes from NLM’s historic collection electronically to the public (“Turning
The Pages”).
|
3:30 - 5:00 pm May 14, 2009
George R. Thoma, Ph.D.
Chief, Communications Engineering Branch
Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications
U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)
George Thoma directs and conducts research and
development in digital imaging and machine learning techniques motivated by
NLM's mission-critical tasks. His branch also maintains archives of large
numbers of digitized spine x-rays, uterine cervix and histology images, and
annotated document images that are used as ground truth data for algorithm
design by the computer science and medical informatics communities worldwide.
Dr. Thoma's previous experience at General
Electric, AII Systems, and the University of Pennsylvania had been in developing
concepts and systems involving the application of satellites in voice and data
communications, video distribution, navigation and surveillance. In the 1970s he
helped design and establish satellite earth stations for medical distance
learning, video conferencing, and access to remote clinics in Alaska and the
northwestern U.S.
He publishes widely in the technical literature
(more than 250 papers) and serves regularly as an invited speaker and session
chair at various IEEE and SPIE conferences. As General Chair, he organized the
14th IEEE Symposium for Computer-Based Medical Systems held at NIH. He has
lectured extensively on these topics at various conferences, seminars and
workshops at institutions in this country as well as in Spain, Japan, Holland,
Switzerland, U.K., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, United Arab Emirates and India,
frequently as an invited speaker. He was sponsored by the U.S. Information
Agency to provide technical consultation to Brazilian industrial organizations,
and invited by the United Nations Development Programme to present workshops and
seminars at the National Informatics Centre and the Indian Space Research
Organization in India. As a representative of the Federal Government, he has
served on the Maryland Governor's Task Force on High Speed Networks, and
currently represents NIH on one of the Internet2 Advisory Councils.
Dr. Thoma earned a B.S. from Swarthmore College,
and the M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, all in Electrical
Engineering. He is a Fellow of the SPIE, the International Society for Optical
Engineering. He is listed in American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in
Technology Today and similar publications. He is the recipient of the NIH Merit
Award, NLM Regents Award, Federal 100 Award, among many others, including
certificates of recognition from NASA and the American College of Physicians.
The Communications Engineering Branch of NLM’s
Lister Hill Center conducts research and development in digital imaging and
machine learning techniques motivated by NLM's mission-critical tasks. This talk
will give an overview of ongoing projects, including: automated extraction of
bibliographic data from medical articles (to build MEDLINEŽ); imaging and
database tools for research into the role of Human Papillomavirus in cervical
cancer (in collaboration with NCI); systems for long term preservation of
digitized historic documents; content-based image indexing and retrieval (CBIR)
techniques applied to spinal x-ray and uterine cervix images; NLP techniques to
automatically extract outcome statements from medical articles to augment
electronic health records; the design of multimedia-rich interactive
publications that hold promise for a new generation of scientific publishing;
animated virtual books to bring rare volumes from NLM’s historic collection
electronically to the public (“Turning The Pages”). |
