Charles Polk
- Hometown: Athens, Ala. Major: Computer Science
Auburn University engineering student, Charles Polk, recently received a RISE 2009 Award to - traveled to Germany to further his studies and engineering work experience. A junior at Auburn, Polk made the decision to attend the university because of its reputation for a strong engineering program. His father also attended Auburn and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
Polk chose computer science because he had experience with computers since childhood. "It seemed like a natural fit that will provide me with many career opportunities," says Polk. "The possibilities are endless to be able to create software to solve problems in today's world. As things become digital, there becomes more opportunity to make everyday tasks easier and more efficient."
Polk became interested in travelling to Germany to further his engineering studies when he learned that he could complete work that is directly related to computer science, while having the chance to go abroad and experience a different culture. He contacted Nick Conrad, the director of Overseas Internships for Engineering at Auburn who pointed him to the DAAD RISE program (www.daad.de/rise) that allows undergraduates in their junior or senior year to intern in Germany. During this internship, students are able to put engineering principles learned in class into practice. The internships are available for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Software Engineering.
After learning about the program, Polk applied for three internships and was accepted into the program at the German Cancer Research Institute in Heidelberg. He commented that he was surprised to be one of the 370 out of 1,000 accepted into the program, competing with students from Harvard, Yale, Oxford, the University of Pennsylvania and other elite schools.
While at the German Cancer Research Institute, Polk was paired with a doctoral student and worked on a medical imaging project. Here are some short notes about his experience.
May 24, 2009
I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany on May 16th, after a 10 hour flight from Huntsville. From Frankfurt, I then took a train Heidelberg where I will intern for the next three months. I met the doctoral student, Alexander Seitel, who will be my mentor in the internship program.
Alex got me set up at my apartment, which is located on one of the main roads in the middle of old town Heidelberg called HaupStraße. The apartment is very conveniently located to shops and cafes, but is only 10 square meters (very similar to the size of a dorm room). He also helped me get a bike, since almost everyone here seems to get around on foot or by bike. The bike will allow me to get to work at the DKFZ (German Cancer Research Institute) in around 15 minutes.
After putting away my luggage and getting situated in my apartment, Alex invited me to go the Neckar Wieße. The Neckar is a smaller river that branches off from the Rhine River, and there are several fields that are located next to it where many people in the community gather on the weekends to play sports or cookout. We spent close to four hours with some of Alex's work colleagues playing a variety of sports. It was very interesting to see the number of people in Germany who have active lifestyles and manage to stay in shape.
My first day was on Monday, and I got my own email with the DKFZ and a key to get into the room where I will work. I began to learn more about the project and the structure that I would be working on—the Medical Imaging Toolkit (MITK). The project is based on a 2D and 3D renderer that can show close views of different body parts, provide measurements accurately and eventually turn this interaction into a live process that doctors could use during surgery or on a daily basis. I will first be learning about the structure of MITK and its software then implementing recent upgrades to the software onto modules to make them work with the system more efficiently.
It appears that I was one of the first interns here but other DAAD Rise Program interns are arriving each day. It is nice to have people around who speak English. It's a diverse group of students from cities such as Rochester, New York and Chicago. Tomorrow, I begin work at the DKFZ, Medical Biology Informatics (MBI) and look forward to developing modules for MITK.
June 2, 2009
I began work this week by updating a module that is used for path planning during surgery and other operations. The module is used to gain knowledge about the exact distance and volumes between points in the body, as well as giving an actual view of the body from along the path. This software is very interesting because of its ability to give those in the medical field the opportunity to make more knowledgeable decisions. I have learned a great deal about the structure of this medical imaging software.
I have also been able to do some traveling around Heidelberg and have visited many tourist locations such as the Heidelberg castle. I am planning to visit Paris in the next weeks as I schedule trips with the other interns. There will also be a large fireworks show in Heidelberg as they celebrate the bombing of the Heidelberg Castle. I am really enjoying the city and am constantly trying to learn more German.
June 9, 2009
This week, I was able to finish a path planning module for insertion and target points during surgery. I feel I've finally developed a decent grasp on the medical imaging software structure.
I am now beginning to work on Alex's project, which seems to be an interesting assignment. The project involves working with a system that allows surgeons to make an exact incision and remove tumors in the liver with minimal error or destruction of healthy tissue. The system also compensates for any motion that might occur during the surgery, so that movement in the patient's abdomen does not cause the surgeon to damage healthy tissue.
This innovative system has three stages during removal and is presented on two monitors where surgeons can track their progress towards the tumor using an infrared point tracking system. The first step tracks the insertion tool and allows the surgeon to match it up to the exact planned insertion point through a 3D renderer that shows the exact angle and proximity to the skin. Once the insertion is made, the system allows for surgeons to make sure the angle of insertion is correct and determine how close the insertion tool actually is to the tumor. When the insertion tool comes within a certain distance of the tumor, a small camera on the end of the tool is displayed on the screen, and a target appears so the tumor can be hit directly. After the surgeon makes an insertion in the tumor, an umbrella-like group of metallic wires is pushed out of the tube. Using high frequency radio waves, resistance is generated and the tumor is heated and destroyed.
I am finding my work very interesting here at the DKFZ and am looking forward to the chance to contribute on such a ground breaking project. I am going to be going to Paris this weekend as well, so I am looking forward to being introduced into another new culture.
June 23, 2009
Recently, I have finished my additions to the Path Planning module for surgery, and the additions have now been uploaded to the server. So the module is ready to be used by everyone using the new version of MITK.
After finishing my module, I began working directly with Alex, my doctoral student mentor, on his project for lung compensation during surgery. This project will be use to surgically remove tumors. Currently, I am using MITK to make segmentations of the internal envelope, visceral envelope and diaphragmatical envelope, so we can measure the distance of shifting during breathing.
I also have become apart of a "Bug Squashing" team that meets every Wednesday for a bug squashing party to address reported bugs for our medical imaging toolkit.
Tomorrow, I will attend a meeting with of all of the directors of well-known open source Medical Imaging Toolkits from around the world. They are meeting to collaborate and create the most robust toolkit possible for medical imaging. This will be a unique opportunity to see Germans, French, Italians and Americans join together to attempt to create this toolkit.
