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Research Areas:

Dr. Nancy Ford is a leader in respiratory-gated and cardiac-gated micro-CT imaging and in contrast-enhanced micro-CT. She was the first researcher worldwide to perform respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging on free-breathing animals. She has performed respiratory-gated imaging of lung injury in rats at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron facility, and radiation therapy treatment to the lung in mice at TRIUMF particle accelerator using the new FLASH irradiation platform. Dr. Ford also pursues research in dental radiology, including characterizing and optimizing the imaging performance for different tasks and measuring the radiation dose delivered to patients during dental conebeam CT and panoramic imaging.

Teaching Areas:

Radiology, Medical Physics, Graduate student research supervision, undergraduate student research supervision

Dr. Ford completed her BSc in Chemical Physics (University of Waterloo) and PhD in Medical Biophysics (University of Western Ontario). Her research experience includes working as a Research Assistant in a Digital Mammography research group at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto ON, Imaging Physicist with the Ontario Breast Screening Program, and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Imaging Research Labs at the Robarts Research Institute in London ON. Prior to joining UBC, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Ryerson University. Her research experience includes the technical aspects of clinical and pre-clinical medical imaging (primarily x-ray) and contributes to multidisciplinary studies of a variety of disease models. 
 
Specialization: Micro-computed tomography; x-ray imaging; physiological gating; image quality metrics; pre-clinical imaging; dental radiology; dental CBCT; synchrotron imaging 
 
Preclinical Research Projects: 
Micro-computed tomography is a 3D x-ray imaging technique for producing high-resolution images of rodent anatomy. We have developed techniques for synchronizing the imaging acquisition protocol to the respiratory and cardiac rates of rodents. Synchronizing the imaging protocol allows us to produce images of a specific phase in the respiratory or cardiac cycle, and can produce a series of images throughout the cycle. These images can be analyzed to quantitatively study the anatomy and function of the rodents' heart or lungs. We are also working with different contrast media to allow targeted contrast enhancement in the images to more clearly visualize the chambers of the heart, the margins of a tumour, etc. 
 
Current projects include: 
A) Denoising preclinical micro-computed tomography images for improved regional analysis of the lungs and pulmonary vasculature in a mouse model of COPD 
We are training CNNs to remove artifacts and noise from respiratory-gated micro-computed tomography images. By removing structural noise and artifacts, we expect to improve the accuracy of measurements obtained from these images. 
Funding: BC Lung 
 
B) Contrast-enhanced micro-CT  
We are testing novel contrast agents for micro-CT imaging to determine the contrast enhancement produced, the organs targeted, and the time course for clearance. 
Funding: NSERC 
 
C) Effects of e-cigarettes on respiratory and oral health  
We are using an inhalation exposure model in mice to identify any respiratory and oral health pathologies following 6 months of exposure to nicotine-containing vaping fluids. We will measure lung structure and function in vivo, assess nasal passageways and bone, and perform histology of lung and oral tissues. 
Funding: New Frontiers in Research Fund 
 
 
Clinical Research Projects: 
I am also interested in optimizing image quality in clinical CT imaging studies. Current projects with clinical collaborators include image quality assessment and optimization of cone-beam CT for dental applications and dosimetry for panoramic imaging. My research team has measured the x-ray dose from a range of x-ray imaging modalities relevant to dentistry, including head CT, panoramic, and cone beam CT (large and small fields of view). We applied a new measurement metric (AAPM Report 111) to provide an accurate comparison between modalities, and found that the dose delivered in dental CBCT may be higher than previously reported. We have also developed phantoms to represent the child and adolescent populations and have quantified how much additional dose is imparted to these patients compared with adults during the same imaging procedure. We are characterizing the image quality achieved using different imaging settings for different models of dental CBCT machines. 
 
My current research involves optimizing the image acquisition techniques for dental cone-beam computed tomography. Current projects include: 
 
D) Automated image analysis  
We are using image processing techniques improve the image quality and to identify and segment dental structures from conebeam CT images. These automated techniques are expected to improve the image quality and workflow in treatment planning. 
 
E) Image quality analysis of dental radiography equipment  
We are looking at the image quality of various dental imaging techniques and optimizing acquisition protocols to ensure clinically diagnostic images with low radiation doses. 
 
F) Dual-Energy CBCT (Currently Recruiting) 
We are exploring ways to retrofit existing CBCT equipment to produce dual-energy images. These approaches will be applied to preclinical micro-CT and dental CBCT machines. 
Funding: NSERC 
 
Available Positions: 
 
I am looking to accept students at the MSc, PhD or Postdoctoral level. Students may register in the Craniofacial Science program (Faculty of Dentistry), Experimental Medicine program (Faculty of Medicine), or through the CAMPEP-accredited Medical Physics program (Faculty of Science). 
 
I also accept strong undergraduate students for 4th year thesis projects, directed studies projects or paid positions (Work-Learn, Co-op, summer students). 
 
Selected Recent Publications (5 years): 
 
Clinical Medical & Dental Imaging: 
Ford NL, Mossadegh AH, Vora SR, Aleksejuniene J, “Measuring the outcomes of lateral ridge augmentation using conebeam computed tomography”, CLINICAL IMPLANT DENTISTRY AND RELATED RESEARCH 26(1):206-215, (2024) https://doi.org/10.1111/CID.13270 
 
Ramachandran S, Soheilipour S, Ford NL, Brondani MA, “Exploring Stressors and Coping Strategies Among Dental Students During COVID-19 Pandemic in British Columbia”, JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION 87:1427-1436 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.13312 
 
Ismail A, Lakschevitz F, MacDonald D, Ford NL, “Measurement Accuracy In Cone Beam Computed Tomography In The Presence Of Metal Artifact”, THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL IMPLANTS, 31(1):143-152 (2022). DOI: 10.11607/jomi.9079 
 
Preclinical imaging: 
Esplen N, Egoriti L, Planche T, Radel S, Koay HW, Humphries B, Ren X, Ford NL, Hoehr C, Gottberg A, Bazalova-Carter M, “Dosimetric characterization of a novel UHDR megavoltage x-ray source for FLASH radiobiological experiments”, NATURE SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 14:822 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50412-w 
 
Ford NL, Lee I, Hwangbo J, Tam A, Sin DD, “In vivo measurements of lung function using respiratory-gated micro-CT in a smoke-exposure model of COPD”, JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING, 10(1): 016002 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.10.1.016002 
 
Tan MJ, Fernandes N, Williams KC, Ford NL, "In vivo micro-computed tomography imaging in liver tumor study of mice using Fenestra VC and Fenestra HDVC", NATURE SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 12:22399 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26886-5 
 
Bolaños LA, Xiao D, Ford NL, LeDue JM, Rhodin H, and Murphy TH, “3D virtual mouse-body generates synthetic training data for behavioral analysis”, NATURE METHODS, 18, 378–381(2021) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-021-01103-9 
 
El Ketara S, Ford NL, “Time Course Study of a Gold Nanoparticle Contrast Agent for use in Cardiac-gated Micro-CT Imaging in Mice”, BIOMEDICAL PHYSICS & ENGINEERING EXPRESS, (2020) https://doi.org/10.1088/2057-1976/ab8741 
 
Kozomara S, Ford NL, “Detectability of Fluorescent Gold Nanoparticles under Micro-CT and Optical Projection Tomography Imaging”, JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING, (2020) 7(2), 026002, DOI: 10.1117/1.JMI.7.2.026002.  
 
Ford NL, Tan S, Deman P, “An investigation of radiation damage in rat lungs following dual-energy micro-CT imaging”, BIOMEDICAL PHYSICS & ENGINEERING EXPRESS, 5(2):025005, (2019). DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/aaf240