The second week was mostly spent in the MRI facility and the reading room, observing MRI scans/procedure and learning its analysis. I was like "The Observer" in the "Fringe" TV series, i.e. simply observing and noting things and procedures. However, a lot of questions were bombarded to the clinicians. To my surprise, I discovered a stark different between clinicians and researchers. Clinicians answer questions to best of their ability, while researchers evade or dismiss them!
Although I knew it before, but it was my time experience of the two kinds of patients: troubled and troubling. The troubled patient is the one who is in pain and wants to get rid of it. The person cooperates with medical staff and doctors. On the other hand, the troubling patient personally makes sure that the people helping him or her have as much pain (mostly psychological) as he or she has. Also, they want to maximize the benefit for every penny spent on their health care. The first patient whom I encountered was of the latter category. Lucky me! The nurse told me that such case is one in a six months type. Despite a consent form and a couple of anesthesia doses, she wasn't cooperating for an MRI scan. I must confess I was thoroughly enjoying the situation (somewhat inappropriate)! After waiting for half an hour, I switched to the MRI scan of another patient. Ironically and more commonly, he was quietly having the scan I guess even without anesthesia. The clinician showed me the various scanning protocols as well as the sequence at which the scans are acquired. He helped me understand the whole MRI procedure. Meanwhile, the troubling patient's MRI scan was somehow taken!
The MRI facility is incomplete without the Reading room because it is the place where all the image analysis is carried out. The Reading room is occupied with the doctors and residents, always moving in and out of the room. At every occasion there was a doctor who volunteered to go through the scans with me. Various normal and abnormal cases were shows in different imaging modalities. There were a few cases hard to diagnose due to the lack of concrete evidence. The reading room was also 60 patients behind in the diagnosis of patients.
Like Richard Feynman, I have a habit of talking about myself and my research everywhere to everyone. Also, being in the field of image processing, I try to gather as much information about the process and application as soon as something with images come up. In this instance, what is the time and distance difference between both two images? Is it due to delay in the signal averaging? How reliable are these images given their susceptibility with noise? Luckily, a doctor there had a problem for me to solve. Siemens MRI machine was generating an artifact that was not present in the GE machine. Unfortunately, I couldn't get access to the images from the two machines. I hope to get them in the upcoming weeks.
My goal for visiting the MRI facility and the Reading room is to create a block diagram of step by step process consisting of all the procedures (including various protocols) involving the creation, analysis, and diagnosis of the MR images. Through it, I will be able to know all the current problems, both technical and research, as well as can identify the processes requiring upgradation and improvement, so that I can develop or incorporate techniques to overcome them.
Commuting between the MRI facility (basement) and the Reading room (6th floor) provides me the opportunity to see many patients arriving, leaving, and waiting. I always smile to them and they rarely seem to notice, perhaps due to their pain. However, their relatives are mostly happy, maybe because they finally got a chance to claim the dormant health insurance! Being an excellent ex-host of many world class diseases, I empathize with the patients. Through my experience, I wish I could tell them that pain is inevitable, sadness is a choice. Be happy, whatever is the situation! Nothing stays for long.
I thought of meeting my mentor in Tuesday but came to know in the Reading room that his wife was having a delivery on that day! I never knew that the medical profession is also not untouched from gossip and grapevine communication. Later, my mentor officially communicated to me that he is blessed with a daughter. Many congratulations to him and his wife! Meeting is scheduled the next week.
I am required to be present at multiples places at the same time (many places in Weill as well as in Ithaca). In other words, I am "Schrodinger's Man". Quantum physics was never clearly understood as it is now! Summer immersion is not going the way I imagined. In fact, it is way better than that. I am working twice (sometimes more) and commuting all the time at a stipend which is lower than the previous summer. Expenses in NYC have made sure that my savings is depleted. But I am thoroughly enjoying it! Learning has also multiplied and was never so fun.
Woody Allen once said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans". This is certainly true for the patients I encountered, my PhD advisor, and of course me! Others may feel the same if they come to know my summer schedule and what they thought it will be.
Although I knew it before, but it was my time experience of the two kinds of patients: troubled and troubling. The troubled patient is the one who is in pain and wants to get rid of it. The person cooperates with medical staff and doctors. On the other hand, the troubling patient personally makes sure that the people helping him or her have as much pain (mostly psychological) as he or she has. Also, they want to maximize the benefit for every penny spent on their health care. The first patient whom I encountered was of the latter category. Lucky me! The nurse told me that such case is one in a six months type. Despite a consent form and a couple of anesthesia doses, she wasn't cooperating for an MRI scan. I must confess I was thoroughly enjoying the situation (somewhat inappropriate)! After waiting for half an hour, I switched to the MRI scan of another patient. Ironically and more commonly, he was quietly having the scan I guess even without anesthesia. The clinician showed me the various scanning protocols as well as the sequence at which the scans are acquired. He helped me understand the whole MRI procedure. Meanwhile, the troubling patient's MRI scan was somehow taken!
The MRI facility is incomplete without the Reading room because it is the place where all the image analysis is carried out. The Reading room is occupied with the doctors and residents, always moving in and out of the room. At every occasion there was a doctor who volunteered to go through the scans with me. Various normal and abnormal cases were shows in different imaging modalities. There were a few cases hard to diagnose due to the lack of concrete evidence. The reading room was also 60 patients behind in the diagnosis of patients.
Like Richard Feynman, I have a habit of talking about myself and my research everywhere to everyone. Also, being in the field of image processing, I try to gather as much information about the process and application as soon as something with images come up. In this instance, what is the time and distance difference between both two images? Is it due to delay in the signal averaging? How reliable are these images given their susceptibility with noise? Luckily, a doctor there had a problem for me to solve. Siemens MRI machine was generating an artifact that was not present in the GE machine. Unfortunately, I couldn't get access to the images from the two machines. I hope to get them in the upcoming weeks.
My goal for visiting the MRI facility and the Reading room is to create a block diagram of step by step process consisting of all the procedures (including various protocols) involving the creation, analysis, and diagnosis of the MR images. Through it, I will be able to know all the current problems, both technical and research, as well as can identify the processes requiring upgradation and improvement, so that I can develop or incorporate techniques to overcome them.
Commuting between the MRI facility (basement) and the Reading room (6th floor) provides me the opportunity to see many patients arriving, leaving, and waiting. I always smile to them and they rarely seem to notice, perhaps due to their pain. However, their relatives are mostly happy, maybe because they finally got a chance to claim the dormant health insurance! Being an excellent ex-host of many world class diseases, I empathize with the patients. Through my experience, I wish I could tell them that pain is inevitable, sadness is a choice. Be happy, whatever is the situation! Nothing stays for long.
I thought of meeting my mentor in Tuesday but came to know in the Reading room that his wife was having a delivery on that day! I never knew that the medical profession is also not untouched from gossip and grapevine communication. Later, my mentor officially communicated to me that he is blessed with a daughter. Many congratulations to him and his wife! Meeting is scheduled the next week.
I am required to be present at multiples places at the same time (many places in Weill as well as in Ithaca). In other words, I am "Schrodinger's Man". Quantum physics was never clearly understood as it is now! Summer immersion is not going the way I imagined. In fact, it is way better than that. I am working twice (sometimes more) and commuting all the time at a stipend which is lower than the previous summer. Expenses in NYC have made sure that my savings is depleted. But I am thoroughly enjoying it! Learning has also multiplied and was never so fun.
Woody Allen once said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans". This is certainly true for the patients I encountered, my PhD advisor, and of course me! Others may feel the same if they come to know my summer schedule and what they thought it will be.
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