Week 7

This last week we went down to NYP campus in Lower Manhattan (Beekman st) because their MRI scanners have a special metal reduction artifact software that will help us image better the tissue expanders. From the images that we were able to acquire, the metal artifact is reduced significantly, in comparison with our other optimization experiments. This is definitely the way to go for imaging the tissue expanders. The only downside is that the software is only available at 3T MRI, which is contraindicated for patients with tissue expanders. But hopefully Dr. Prince will get a version of the software for 1.5T MRI and he will be able to image his patients with this from now on.
I also finished analyzing all the data I got while being in NYC. I calculated the size of artifact, standard deviation and SNR of all the images to determine which combination of parameters will give us the best images. In conclusion, higher bandwidth and thicker slices gives us the best SNR ratio and less artifact.

I'm feeling very nostalgic to leave tomorrow. I can't describe how much I learnt this summer, how much I enjoyed my experience here and how happy I was.
A great part of that was thanks of my advisor, Dr. Prince. He made my experience here uniquely amazing.  He transmitted me his passion for MRI, and made me feel excited and curious about a subject I had no idea about before coming here. I also learnt about neurosurgery and plastic surgery. I'm definitely eager to keep working with him and finish my work here, hopefully with the submission of a paper or an abstract.

Another great part of that was because of my friends. I felt more bounded to them after this experience, we had an amazing time exploring good food, getting out of escape rooms, enjoying the broadway shows, and walking around the city. I also felt that I could chat and get to know some of my other classmates as well, those with whom I don't share much back in Ithaca.
I met wonderful people at work, and I also made some new friends. I had my family here, and we explored NYC together. Today I'm leaving to Colombia for two weeks, with my heart full of joy and love.

I would like to thank the BME department, Belinda and Kelly, Dr. Prince, Dr. Min and Dr. Wang for making this experience enjoyable for each one of us. It has definitely helped us gain valuable skills and experience for our PhD.