National Institute of 

Standards and Technology

Bio-Imaging Showcase

October 6, 2009

Dr. Jason Boehm
2

National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric 

Administration

International 

Trade 

Administration

US Patent and 

Trademark 

Office

National Institute 

of Standards & 

Technology

Economics and 

Statistics 

Administration

other agencies...

Patrick D. Gallagher

Deputy Director

Gary F. Locke 

Secretary of Commerce

Department of Commerce

Gary F. Locke confirmed as US 

Commerce Secretary on March 24, 

2009

Dennis F. Hightower confirmed as 

Deputy Secretary of Commerce on 

August 7, 2009

Dennis F. Hightower

Deputy Secretary of Commerce

Secretary Locke announced 

President Obama’s intent to 

nominate Dr. Gallagher to be the 

14th Director of NIST on 

September 10, 2009

The historic mission of the Department is "to 

foster, promote, and develop the foreign 

and domestic commerce" of the United States. 

This has evolved, as a result of legislative and 

administrative additions, to encompass broadly the 

responsibility to foster, serve, and promote 

the Nation's economic development and 

technological advancement. 
3

NIST Mission and Programs

NIST Laboratories • Create critical measurement solutions and promote equitable 

standards to stimulate innovation, foster industrial competitiveness, 

and improve the quality of life.

Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership • Nationwide network of resources helping smaller manufacturers 

compete globally

Baldrige National Quality Program • Promoting and recognizing performance excellence via information 

and Presidential awards in manufacturing, service, small business, 

education, health care, and the nonprofit sector 

Technology Innovation Program • Supports development of cutting edge technologies by the private 

sector and universities to address critical national needs and key 

societal challenges

Courtesy Stoner Inc. Courtesy Steuben © Geoffrey Wheeler

Mission: to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness 

by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in 

ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life
4

Collaborations

 2600 Associates and Facility Users

Measurement Research

 2,200 publications per year

 8,000 attendees at 69 technical conferences

Standard Reference Data

 100 different types

 6,000 units sold per year

 130 million data downloads per year

Standard Reference Materials

 1,300 products available

 33,000 units sold per year

Patents and Inventions

 40 in FY 07

Baldrige National Quality Program

 67 Award recipients (71 Awards)

 1,139 Baldrige Award applications

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

 28,000 Clients

Calibration Tests

 24,000 tests per year

Laboratory Accreditation

 800 accreditations of testing and

calibrations laboratories per year

Standards Committees

 400 NIST staff serving on 1,000 national 

and international standards committees

Other Agency R&D

 > 300 Agreements with 80 Fed. Agencies

 $125M received in FY 2009

NIST Products and Services
5

President’s Science and Innovation Plan

President Barack Obama gives a speech at the 

National Academy of Sciences on April 27, 2009. 

Photos by Patricia Pooladi courtesy National Academy of Sciences. 

Commerce Secretary Gary 

Locke and Harvey V. 

Fineberg President of the 

Institute of Medicine., NAS.

The President’s budget recognizes that NIST is a 

capable partner that is strategically positioned to help 

the Nation improve its innovation performance and 

respond effectively and efficiently to national priorities.

• Double NIST laboratory/construction budget

• Growth of Hollings MEP Program

• Growth of Technology Innovation Program

NIST programs directly impact Presidential priorities:

• Smart Grid

• Health IT

• Cyber-security

• Manufacturing 

• Innovation and competiveness
6

NIST and Healthcare
7

1. Standards and Technology for Increased Quality in Current-Generation

Biomedical Measurements for Diagnostics And Therapeutics 

• Laboratory Medicine

• Medical Imaging

2. Standards to Support Next-Generation Healthcare Measurements in 

Human Cells, Fluids and Tissues 

• Tools to support discovery and utilization of “Disease Signatures” 

Measurement Infrastructure for Healthcare 

Innovation
8

Advanced Imaging Technologies: Molecules to Man

1)Whole body imaging: New therapies for cancer, quantitative 

and reproducible imaging of biomarkers, and software for 

image registration

2) 3D compositional mapping of cells: development of 

robust, automated technologies for the mapping of cellular 

architecture at molecular resolution aimed at detection of 3D 

distribution of ions, metabolites, drugs and proteins. 

3) Cellular imaging: Super-resolution light microscopy, 

localization studies in the nucleus and cytoplasm, and software 

platforms for pattern recognition
9

3D Chemical Imaging

electron

ion beam

beam

X-ray

detector

5

5

5

50

10 10 10

50

50

100

Quantum dot sizes in nm e-beam

i-beam

x-ray

serial slicing with ion beam + 

chemical mapping w/ X-rays

Experiment Monte Carlo Simulation

simulate organelles, cytosol, 

and nanoparticles in realistic 

geometry to predict detection 

limits and 3D artifacts

6 micrometers

Experimental Maps

3D maps of diatom

silica skeleton

~ 200 serial X-ray maps

visualization of

3D silicon

distribution
10

Cellular and Tissue Imaging Methods

Cellular Imaging 

• Confocal, Fluorescence, etc. 

Heavily used, image analysis development

•Optical Coherence

Noninvasive, Label-free, Excellent penetration

• CARS

Noninvasive, Label-free, Molecular contrast

• Conjugated Quantum Dots

Quantitative, Molecular contrast

Tissue Imaging

•All of above, plus...

• mCT

Label-free, 3D structure

• Ultrasound 

Noninvasive, Label-free

•Photo-Acoustic

Excellent penetration, Molecular contrast

Contact: Marcus Cicerone
11

Quantitative MRI Standards Research at NIST

New system phantom for determining

 geometric accuracy of MRI scanners

 B0 and B1 non-uniformity

 T1, T2, and protein density measurement accuracy

 Resolution

 signal to noise

 system stability

First MRI phantom with NIST traceability 

 open source 3-d models

 associated numerical imaging phantom

 materials properties database

 http://wiki.ismrm.org/twiki/bin/view/QuantitativeMR/Quant

itativeMRWhitePaper2007

Developing measurement systems to 

 characterize advanced MRI nanoagents

 detect NMR relaxivity around a single nano-contrast 

agent 

 measure the activation of individual nanoagents

 measure magnetic-nanoparticle viral-surrogate 

concentrations < 104/liter Figure 2 Schematic image of protein cage 

filled with an iron oxide nanoparticle being 

investigated for MRI contrast and viral 

surrogate applications. 

Figure 1 Solid model of MRI system phantom

Figure 2 Microfabricated particles
12

Chip-Scale Atomic Magnetometers at NIST

4.5 mm

1.7 mm 1

2

3

6

4

(a) (b)

5 4.5 mm

1.7 mm 1

2

3

6

4

(a) (b)

5

2004: 40 pT/Hz 2006: 5 pT/Hz 2007: 70 fT/Hz

B0

PD

Cell

Heater

s

3 mm

DB

500 X sensitivity improvement in 3 years

2008: 15 fT/Hz
13

Medical Optical Imaging

400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750

Blue

Green

Red

Relative Signal [a.u.]

Wavelength [nm]

520 540 560 580 600 620 640

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

520 540 560 580 600 620 640

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Wavelength nm

Gallbladder

Apparent Absorbance

Medical Applications: Burns Gall Bladder Cancer Diabetes

Infections Organ 

Transplants
NIST Technology Transfer and Collaboration

 A wide variety of tools

 Patents and licenses

 Collaborations – formal and informal

 Guest researchers

 Facility Use Agreements

 Publications

 Standards
NIST Technology Transfer and Collaboration

 www.nist.gov look for “Work with us”

 http://patapsco.nist.gov/ts/220/external/index.htm

 Contact: Office of Technology Partnerships

otp.nist.gov

301-975-3084