The goals of this program are to 1) introduce students to advanced medical image acquisition and quantitative analysis in clinical settings throughout France, 2) highlight how clinical medicine is practiced in France, and 3) broaden students' international experiences and enrich their understanding of French history and culture. The learning objectives include: 1) identifying different types of medical imaging equipment and data, 2) quantifying cardiac and vascular medical image data through segmentation and other post-processing algorithms including neural nets, and 3) learning how each imaging modality is applied in the study of different pathologies. Although the scientific community works in English and the study abroad content will not require French language proficiency, we plan to expose the students to introductory French phrases that will be useful when traveling in the country. Through this new study abroad program that introduces students to clinician-scientists, we ultimately aim to increase the knowledge of future engineers in imaging research, clinical medicine, and healthcare abroad.
Proposed itinerary: (subject to change)
Wednesday, May 8 -Depart USA
Thursday, May 9 (French Bank Holiday) - Arrive in Paris; welcome lunch/dinner
Friday, May 10 - First class session/lab tour/lecture; Afternoon cultural activity
Saturday, May 11 - Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, Seine boat tour, Sacre Cour, Catachome tour, etc.
Sunday, May 12 - Explore Paris in the morning; Afternoon train to Lyon
Monday, May 13 - Department of Radiology, Hospital Croix Rousse
Tuesday, May 14 - Department of Biotechnology Engineering and Bioinformatics at the Institut National de Sciences Appliquees (INSA)
Wednesday, May 15 - Meet with researchers at Creatis Medical Imaging Research Center, University of Lyon
Thursday, May 16 - Morning train to Montpellier
Friday, May 17 - LIRMM - Montpellier; CNS University of Montpellier - Chemistry; INRIA
Saturday, May 18 - Day trip to Carcassonne - Medieval Citadel/Fortified City
Sunday, May 19 - Beach day on the Mediterranean Sea or explore the city
Monday, May 20 - (French Bank Holiday) Montpellier art museums, Toulouse, Marseille/cultural experience
Tuesday, May 21 - Conservatory of Anatomy; research seminars at Genopylous; farewell dinner
Wednesday, May 22 - Depart for the USA
For more information, please email Professor Craig Goergen at cgoergen@purdue.edu or Professor Vitaliy Rayz at vrayz@purdue.edu