The Imaging for Surgery, Therapy and Radiology (I-STAR) Lab is a collaborative research endeavor based in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Research areas include: (1) Imaging physics: Mathematical models of imaging performance in advanced modalities, including cone-beam CT and spectral/dual-energy imaging, (2) 3-D image reconstruction: Advanced 3-D image reconstruction based on statistical models of the imaging chain and prior information, (3) Novel imaging systems: Preclinical prototypes translated from the laboratory to first application in diagnostic and interventional procedures, and(4) Image-guided interventions and diagnostic radiology: High-precision interventional guidance systems (for surgery, interventional radiology, and radiation therapy) and new technologies for high-quality diagnostic imaging.

The clinical development of novel immune and stem cell therapies calls for suitable methods that can follow the fate of cells non-invasively in humans at high resolution. The Bulte Lab has pioneered methods to label cells magnetically (using tiny superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) in order to make them visible by MR imaging.

While the lab is doing basic bench-type research, there is a strong interaction with the clinical interventional radiology and oncology groups in order to bring the methodologies into the clinic.