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Between imaging detectors, neon lights and shrines: My conference trip to Japan

By Nils Marquardt, doctoral researcher in medical science (research group of Professor Klaus Schäfers, European Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of Münster)

Photos

My travel destination, Yokohama, is especially well-known for its brightly illuminated night skyline …
My travel destination, Yokohama, is especially well-known for its brightly illuminated night skyline …
© Nils Marquardt
  • … and for being home to the largest Chinatown in Japan.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • This year’s IEEE Medical Imaging Conference took place from 1 to 8 November 2025, at the newly built Pacifico Yokohama North Conference Centre. Originally scheduled to be held there in 2021, the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • The conference opened with the presentation of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Award to Chuck Melcher. He then gave a lecture on his discovery of cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate as a scintillation crystal, which represented a major advance in positron emission tomography and enabled the development of even faster radiation detectors.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • The conference also welcomed numerous representatives from industry, who presented their latest products at booths in a large exhibition hall.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • In total, I spent over two hours at my poster, presenting it to a wide range of attendees.
    © IEEE NSS MIC RTSD
  • Part of the conference’s social program was the exhibition happy hour, which provided an opportunity to talk with industry exhibitors over food and drinks.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • The conference reception took the form of a large buffet with local and international dishes. This setting was ideal for networking, especially given that the event was extremely well attended this year—at times, we had to wait in line for nearly an hour for food.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • The conference concluded with a preview of next year’s event, which will take place in Granada, Spain.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • For the first time this year, guided tours to nearby research institutions were offered after the conference officially ended. These included a visit to the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) in Chiba, where, for example, specialized PET detectors for brain imaging are being developed. Visitors were able to follow the development process from prototype …
    © Nils Marquardt
  • … to clinical end devices …
    © Nils Marquardt
  • … and even put themselves in the role of a patient.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • However, I was not the first German physicist to visit QST.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • Alongside the conference program, there was also time to explore Yokohama and its surroundings and experience Japanese culture. For example, I was able to visit the beautiful Sankei-en Garden in Yokohama …
    © Nils Marquardt
  • … sample delicious wagyū beef at a Japanese tabletop barbecue restaurant …
    © Nils Marquardt
  • … and take a trip to Tokyo. There, I experienced the hectic rush hour at the famous Shibuya Crossing, but also …
    © Nils Marquardt
  • … the calmness and respect that the Japanese show toward the city’s many shrines.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • Another highlight was visiting the Meiji Shrine, where I observed a Buddhist ceremony up close.
    © Nils Marquardt
  • As it was a clear day, I was also able to see Mount Fuji—the highest mountain in Japan and a sacred site—from one of Tokyo’s many observation platforms.
    © Nils Marquardt

For the third time, I had the opportunity to present my research at the world-renowned IEEE Medical Imaging Conference in November 2025. This time, the journey took me to Yokohama, Japan, together with my doctoral supervisor, Klaus Schäfers.

This is me presenting my poster entitled “Improvement of Optimal Transport-Based Cell Tracking in PET through Time-of-Flight” during one of the poster sessions.
© Nils Marquardt

The conference is one of the most important international meetings in the field of medical imaging. For me, it is an ideal platform for presenting my approaches and results and keeping track of current trends, as my research focuses on utilizing medical imaging techniques to make individual, moving cells in the body, such as immune cells, visible and traceable. In particular, I work on positron emission tomography (PET), in which cells are labelled with traces of radioactivity. I develop computer simulations and experimental laboratory setups that mimic processes in the human body. Then, with their help, we test new computational models for image reconstruction in PET.

It was especially valuable for me to present my research internationally, establish new contacts and gain impulses from both academia and industry. In addition, several promising ideas for future collaborations emerged. Alongside the scientific program, there was also time to explore Yokohama and experience Japanese culture, including taking a trip to Tokyo. I was particularly impressed by the diversity of Japanese cuisine and the cleanliness of the cities. Above all, however, the politeness of the people and the harmonious integration of everyday life and nature made the strongest lasting impression.

The travel and conference participation were supported by the Santander Mobility Fund of the University of Münster and a travel award from the Cells in Motion Interfaculty Centre.

  • Insight into the conference program and beyond

    According to the organizers, more than 1,800 researchers from physics, computer science, engineering, medicine and biology came together this year to discuss current developments in nuclear medicine techniques, including PET and SPECT. Further focal points ranged from algorithms, AI-based image processing and machine learning to novel detectors, quantitative imaging and image analysis.

    Technical innovations were already at the centre of attention during the first sessions. In several 90-minute lecture blocks, international colleagues presented new approaches to improving radiation detection—for example, advances in electronic readout or novel detector materials that enable faster time and higher energy resolution. The day concluded with the exhibition happy hour, which provided an opportunity to exchange ideas with representatives from industry over finger food and drinks.

    One highlight was the presentation of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Award to Chuck Melcher. In his lecture, he explained how he and his colleagues discovered cerium-doped LSO scintillators and the impact this had on the development of PET technology. Sessions on “New Concepts and Emerging Applications” and “New Radiation Detector Technologies for Medical Imaging” followed later that day. The contributions that I found particularly interesting were those on PET detectors that could potentially also be used for SPECT in the future, as well as those on multi-isotope measurements during a single PET scan. The day was rounded off by the conference reception, which featured regional and international cuisine and offered numerous networking opportunities. Among others, we spoke with a research group from Siemens Healthineers who are working on the new total-body PET system Vision Quadra, which was recently installed at the University Hospital Münster (UKM).

    Further award ceremonies followed, along with the second round of the “New Concepts and Emerging Applications” session, which was held in parallel with a lecture series on AI-based image processing. The advances presented clearly demonstrate how strongly artificial intelligence is already influencing image reconstruction, image analysis and clinical diagnostics.

    In the afternoon, I spoke about my own research and recent results during the second poster session, presenting under the title “Improvement of Optimal Transport-Based Cell Tracking in PET Through Time-of-Flight”. Although the session was officially limited to 90 minutes, it developed into an intensive scientific exchange that lasted over two hours. Discussions ranged from fundamental concepts for non-specialists to detailed technical conversations with experts in the PET field and provided valuable input for my further research.

    The following day featured the densest program. In the morning, new concepts for high-resolution PET and SPECT imaging were presented, followed by a session on total-body and multimodality emission tomography systems. In light of the recent installation of the Siemens Vision Quadra at UKM, these lectures offered valuable insight into future research and application scenarios. The final poster session enabled further discussion and initial consideration of potential collaborations.

    On the last day of the conference, I attended a session on “Simulation and Modelling of Medical Imaging Systems.” As simulations constitute a central component of my doctoral research, these presentations provided valuable new perspectives and methodological inspiration. The conference then officially concluded with a preview of next year’s meeting in Granada, Spain.

    Even after the conference ended, there was a special highlight: the organizers offered technical tours to research institutions in the region. I chose to visit the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) in Chiba. There, new PET scanners such as the VRAIN-PET for brain imaging were presented. In addition, visitors were able to tour the underground synchrotron for carbon-ion therapy as well as the clinical facilities. The visit clearly illustrated the close integration of basic research, technological development and clinical application.

    The insight and impressions gained during and after the conference will certainly be valuable for my future research work at the European Institute for Molecular Imaging.