FRONTIERS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
VINSE COLLOQUIUM SERIES 

Dr. Jacqueline Johnson
The University of Tennessee Space Institute
"Mammography and Implant Coatings"

Abstract.  A new medical imaging plate has been designed and tested based on a fluorochlorozirconate glass-ceramic material, seeded with BaCl2 nanocrystals, doped with an optical activator, in this case Eu2+. The structure-property relationships of these glass ceramics will be described using techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure (XANES), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Photostimulated Luminescence (PSL), and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The imaging ability of the plate has been tested at beamline 2BM at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. The setup and images will be shown as well as the design of a new mammography system, which is competitive with state-of-the art digital radiography (DR) systems. Current systems will be compared and contrasted. Although the present focus of the plate is on mammography, preliminary discussions have been held on its potential for dual energy computed tomography (CT). Ideas on this potential application will be presented. In addition, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are being explored as coatings for medical implants and devices. Properties pertaining to DLC as a biomaterial will be elucidated.

Short Bio.
Jacqueline Johnson obtained her B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. She worked as a professor in Liverpool until 1995 when she came to Argonne National Laboratory in the United States to study the structure of glasses. After a 2-year period as Assistant Division Director of the Materials Science Division she returned full time to science to initiate the mammography project. Other current research projects include solar energy and carbon films. On November 1st 2007 she returned to academia at the University of Tennessee, Laser Research Center to further the mammography and carbon research.