One of the most difficult questions I have had
to answer this summer when asked by others is “what exactly do I actually do?”
My response usually is “well how much time do you have?” The short answer is
that I am coding software for medical diagnosis assessing the severity of
vascular disease (Atherosclerosis). The
long answer usually gets cut off mid-sentence 15 minutes into the conversation
because they no longer follow or care for my rambling. My passion for clinical
research is fairly apparent after holding a lengthy conversation with me. That
is why I am currently majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Computer
Science with aspirations towards graduate school. Clinical research is unique
and invigoration; it is bases for establishing and furthering current medical
practices used in hospitals all over the world.
As an undergraduate student getting involved in
research is a daunting and exciting experience. I start everyday by sitting in
front of my computer, sipping a cup of coffee, just staring at the desktop for
at least a good 10 minutes. Unsure of where to begin in writing my code, I set
about the task of dissecting the software into multiple parts. It is a process
of seemingly never ending dissections until I am left with so many little parts
of code that I no longer sure I can put it together. However, that moment when
the universally despised error message no longer appears on the computer
screen, I get a rush of accomplishment. That once allusive feeling of
accomplishment kept me coming back to work especially during the beautiful
summer days.
A couple of weeks ago, I finally got a working
prototype for software program. The
prototype allows the user to load in ultrasound images of the carotid artery;
which the user then marks boundaries of the artery by placing points on the
image. The program constructs a 3D volume of the carotid artery with biological
measures that will aid physicians in assessing the severity of the disease.
Much research is still needed before 3D Ultrasound measurements are established
in clinical use. Thus, my plan is to research the precision of this measurement
paradigm utilizing my software; possibly throughout my graduate education.
