Yi-Hwa Liu

Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine
Section of Cardiovascular Medicine

Research Interests

Research in Nuclear Cardiac Imaging

My primary research has focused on new developments of automatic quantification and iterative image restoration and reconstruction methods for nuclear cardiac tomographic imaging. The new developments promise to improve image resolution and enhance detection of abnormalities of myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function. My latest work is focused on small animal imaging techniques using hybrid coded aperture collimation, and developments of “hot-spot” quantification methods for molecular targeted cardiac images using innovative stochastic methodology incorporated with dual-isotope SPECT and hybrid SPECT/CT imaging techniques. I am also involved in developments of remote reading strategy for nuclear cardiac studies using secured World-Wide-Web technology.

Samady H, Liu YH, Choi CJ, Ragosta M, Pfau SE, Cleman MW, Powers R, Kramer CM, Wackers FJTh, Beller GA, Watson DD. Electromechanical mapping for detecting myocardial viability and ischemia in patients with severe ischemic cardiomyopathy. Am J Cardiol 2003;91:807-811.

Navare SM, Wackers FJTh, Liu YH. Comparison of 16-frame and 8-frame gated SPECT imaging for estimation of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction. Eur J Nucl Med, 2003;30:1330-1337.

Liu YH, Khaimov D, Sinusas AJ, Wackers FJTh. Gated SPECT quantification for myocardial thickness, left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction: methodology and phantom validation. Proceeding of IEEE Nuclear Science and Medical Imaging 2003; Paper # M11-299 (5 pages).

Liu YH, Sinusas AJ, Khaimov D, Gebuza BI, Wackers FJTh. New hybrid count and geometry-based method for quantification of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction from ECG-gated SPECT: methodology and validation. J Nucl Cardiol 2005;12:55:65.

Liu YH, Khaimov D. A Geometry and count-based method for gated SPECT quantification of myocardial thickness, left ventricular volume and ejection fraction. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci 2005; 52:159-165.

Li S, Dobrucki WL, Sinusas AJ, Liu YH. A new method for SPECT quantification of targeted radiotracers uptake in the myocardium. Proceeding of Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) 2005;LNCS 3750:684-691.

Masood Y, Liu YH, Depuey G, Taillefer R, Araujo LI, Allen S, Delbeke D, Anstett F, Peretz A, Zito M-J, Tsatkin, V, Wackers FJTh. Clinical validation of attenuation correction using X-ray CT-derived attenuation maps: multicenter clinical trial with angiographic correlation. J Nucl Cardiol 2005;12: 676-686.

Hong B, Mu Z, Liu YH. A new approach of 3D SPECT reconstruction for near-field coded aperture imaging. Proceedings of the SPIE 2006;6142:61424D1-D8.

Mu Z, Liu YH. Aperture collimation correction and maximum likelihood image reconstruction for near-field coded aperture imaging of single photon emission computerized tomography. IEEE Trans Med Imag 2006;25:701-711.

Liu YH, Fernando GP, Sinusas AJ. A new method for hot-spot quantification of hybrid SPECT/CT cardiac images: methodology and preliminary phantom validation. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci 2006;53:2814-2821.

Abbott BG, Liu YH, Arrighi JA. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose as a memory marker of transient myocardial ischemia. Nuc Med Comm 2007;28:89-94.

Liu YH, Sahul Z, Weyman CA, Ryder WJ, Dione D, Dobrucki LW, Mekkaoui C, Brennan MP, Hu X, Hawley C, Sinusas AJ. Hotspot quantification of myocardial focal tracer uptake from molecular targeted SPECT/CT images: canine validation. Proceedings of the SPIE 2008;6915:69150N1-8.

Ryder WJ, Brennan MP, Sinusas AJ, Liu YH. Iterative reconstruction of multi-pinhole SPECT. Proceedings of the SPIE 2008;1613:69132M1-10.

Education:	B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Chung-Yuan University, Chung-Li, Taiwan, 1981 M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 1987 Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 1991
Training:	Post-Doctoral Fellow: Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, 1991-1993 Post-Doctoral Associate: Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 1993-1995
Prior Academic Positions:>	Associate Research Scientist: Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 1995-1998 Assistant Professor: Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 1998-2004

Contact

Campus Address
Department of Internal Medicine
Section of Cardiovascular Medicine
Yale University
School of Medicine
Box 208017
New Haven, CT
06520-8017

E-mail
yihwa.liu@yale.edu

Telephone
203.785.4114