Editor's Note: Prof Dr KH Ng is a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine (College of Radiology Chapter). The College of Radiology congratulates Prof Dr Ng, lauds his many achievements and thanks him for his contributions to our allied professions.

By Dr Sumithra Ranganathan

“Advances in Medical Imaging: Seeing Structure and Function in the Human body”
The title of Professor Dr Ng Kwan Hoong’s inaugural lecture as a “full” professor in the department of Radiology, University of Malaya was most intriguing. He began his lecture showing an image of the Mona Lisa with her enigmatic smile, making you wonder what she was thinking and feeling.

Professor Ng’s inaugural lecture covered a variety of new imaging modalities available over the last half of the 20th century. Five new imaging modalities have been developed. These include Nuclear Medicine Imaging, Ultrasound, Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Digital Radiography. These imaging procedures have vastly improved diagnosis and management of many diseases, particularly cancer and cardiovascular disorders.

He emphasised that advances in clinical imaging and radiation therapy have been possible due to new discoveries and innovations in basic science, especially in biomedical engineering, molecular biology, medical physics and computer science.

Professor Ng also mentioned that medical imaging includes not only looking at anatomy but the physiological function of the organ systems leading to further diagnostic possibilities.

The introduction of nuclear medicine as well as positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography allows both anatomy and function to be visualised in the same image. Computer technology has further yielded revolutionary digital radiology leading to advancements in specific areas such as mammography and fine detail musculoskeletal surveys.

Magnetic resonance imaging too has added valuable diagnostic information without the hazards of ionizing radiation. Developments such as bone densitometry permit the early diagnosis of osteoporosis thus allowing preventative treatment.

Man-made radionuclide and high energy linear accelerators have led to improvement in the treatment of cancer. Newer, more powerful and faster computers are critical in imaging and therapy.

The implication for the future is that diagnostic procedures and agents may help identify either genotype or molecular phenotype of abnormalities in vivo. We are indeed living at the threshold of an exciting era of unsurpassed advances in medical imaging allowing early diagnosis and improved therapeutic technology for treatment and cure.

The audience held fast to their seats when Professor Ng showed images that took everyone into the world of virtual reality. This included a roller coaster ride through the colon by virtual colonoscopy and a ride into the bronchus by virtual bronchoscopy. He had us thinking about the movie - “The Matrix” - through a world of virtual therapy using 3D glasses and virtual knife in virtual surgery! Finally he made us think about how exciting imaging and the advances were when he talked about the wonders of molecular imaging.

I doubt Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen would have thought that his initial interest in seeing “through” the human body would have led to such exciting advances 109 years later. Kudos Professor Ng for a lecture that was exciting and stimulating.

Read the synopsis of the lecture. You may need to before you can open the PDF file.

About Ng Kwan Hoong
Professor Ng graduated with a Bachelor of Physics degree from the University of Malaya in 1978, obtained an M.Sc in Medical Physics in 1980 from the University of Aberdeen and subsequently obtained his PhD in Medical Physics from University of Malaya in 1995. He was certified by the American Board of Medical Physics in 1999, being the first Malaysian to obtain such a qualification. He joined the Department of Radiology, University of Malaya as a lecturer in 1990, became an associate professor in 1996 and was promoted to professor in 2001.

In 1993 he initiated the first national patient dose and image quality survey which has resulted in greater awareness of the importance of improving the diagnostic quality of images and dose optimization amongst the radiology community. As a result of this work he was invited to represent Malaysia on the United Nations Scientific Committee for the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) 2000 report.

Apart from serving as an expert in radiology quality assurance and radiation protection in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he is also a member of The World Health Organisation expert committee in radiation medicine and one of those in the group which drafted the ‘International Code of Practice for Dosimetry in Diagnostic Radiology’ to be published by the IAEA.

He heads the International Advisory Board and Publication Committees of the International Organisation for Medical Physics (IOMP); and serves as a council member for the International Union of Physical and Engineering Science in Medicine (IUPESM). He is the Founding President of the South East Asian Federation of Medical Physics.

His multi-disciplinary knowledge and training has led to fruitful research collaboration with a spectrum of clinical colleagues resulting in numerous publications. His main research contribution has been in the biophysical characterization of breast diseases and developing computer methods as tools to improve diagnostic capability of mammography. Recently he has been directing research initiatives in digital imaging.

Professor Ng spent 18 months (beginning in 1995) as a visiting scientist at the world-renowned Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison working with Professor Emeritus John Cameron, inventor of the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. During his tenure there, he co-founded the Electronic Medical Physics World and is serving as the editor now.

Upon his return to Malaysia, he started an active postgraduate program, Master of Medical Physics which has since trained more than 25 medical physicists. This masters program, accredited by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), UK, is the sole program outside the British Isles receiving such recognition. He also initiated the PhD programme and is University Supervisor for several PhD candidates from Malaysia and abroad.

Professor Ng has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 70 proceedings papers and presented over 200 scientific papers. He has also organised and directed several workshops on radiology quality assurance, digital imaging and scientific writing. He is also author/co-author of four book chapters and six computer books.

He has served in the editorial board and advisory board of these journals: Journal of Australasian Physical & Engineering Sciences in Medicine, Physics in Medicine and Biology, The Internet Journal of Medical Simulation and Technology.