Charles Caskey, Ph.D.
I study diagnostic and therapeutic uses of ultrasound. I am especially interested in image-guided therapy applications where therapeutic ultrasound is guided by ultrasonic imaging or combined with another imaging modality, such as MRI.
My lab focuses on diagnostic and therapeutic applications of ultrasound with emphasis on image-guided therapy and drug delivery. Toward this goal, we use micron-sized encapsulated bubbles (microbubbles) to target diseased vasculature and develop algorithms to specifically image these bubbles with ultrasound. Under the right ultrasound conditions, these microbubble contrast agents can also locally enhance vascular permeability, allowing them to act as therapeutic agents as well. Ultrasound can also be used to noninvasively apply heat for focal ablation or activation of temperature-sensitive drugs, and we have an ongoing project where we are performing ultrasonic heating under MR-guidance.
Research Information
Hu, X, Caskey CF, Mahakian LM, Kheirolomoom A, Beegle JR, Kruse DE, Decleves, A, Sutcliffe, P, Ferrara KW, 'A Fast ultrasound molecular imaging method for 3D visualization,' Am J Nucl Med Mol Imaging, in press.
Fite, B. Z., Liu, Y., Kruse, D. E., Caskey, C. F., Walton, J. H., Lai, C. Y., Mahakian, L. M., Larrat, B., Dumont, E., and Ferrara, K. W. (2012). 'Magnetic resonance thermometry at 7T for real-time monitoring and correction of ultrasound induced mild hyperthermia,' PLoS ONE, vol. 7, p. e35509.
Caskey, C. F., Hlawitschka, M., Qin, S., Mahakian, L. M., Cardiff, R. D., Boone, J. M., and Ferrara, K. W. (2011). 'An open environment CT-US fusion for tissue segmentation during interventional guidance,' PLoS ONE, vol. 6, p. e27372.
Caskey, C.F., S.P.Qin, et al. (2009).'Microbubble tunneling in gel phantoms.' Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125(5): EL183-EL189. (PMCID: PMC2736761)
Qin, S., Caskey C.F., Ferrara, K.W. (2009). 'Ultrasound contrast microbubbles in imaging and therapy: physical principles and engineering.' Phys. Med. Biol 54(6) (6): R27-57. (PMC2818980).