May Workshop Examines Impact of Advanced Imaging Technology on Tissue Engineering Research

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with the Multi-Agency Tissue Engineering Science (MATES) working group, is sponsoring a two-day workshop on imaging challenges and solutions in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, beginning May 31, 2012, at the NIST laboratories in Gaithersburg, Md.

Researchers have made a variety of advances in their ability to image microscopic objects ranging from "super-resolution" algorithms that produce sharper images than would normally be possible with the given optics to techniques such as photo-acoustic imaging that combine optical absorption and ultrasonic waves to look at specific features inside living tissues. The workshop on Functional Imaging for Regenerative Medicine will explore how cutting-edge imaging techniques can advance the equally fast-growing field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). This workshop will, for the first time, bring together leading experts in the regenerative medicine and imaging communities to encourage collaboration and to develop new ideas.

The workshop aims to accelerate development and adoption of advanced imaging methodologies and tools by identifying current needs of tissue engineers, from the molecular to the macroscopic scales, and consider approaches to meet those needs. The workshop will focus on functional, noninvasive methods appropriate for in vitro and in vivo TERM work.

Session Topics will include "Cellular Function in vitro: High Resolution Single Cell Imaging," "Cellular Function in vivo: In Vivo Cell Imaging," "Tissue Grafts: Macroscopic Imaging" and "Regenerating Whole Organs: Whole Body Imaging."

Additional information on the Functional Imaging for Regenerative Medicine Workshop and the agenda are available online. The online registration form is at www.fbcinc.com/e/NIST/FIRM/atreg1.aspx.

The MATES working group helps coordinate the activities of a broad range of federal agencies interested in research on tissue engineering. In addition to NIST, the agencies participating in MATES include the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Naval Research Laboratory and the Department of Veterans Affairs.