Christopher L. Brace Assistant Professor Address/E-mail Program Affiliations Courses Education Fields of Interest Awards & Honors Selected Publications Summary For additional information, see my

Contact Information

WIMR 1303 1111 Highland Ave Madison, WI 53705

Tel: 608/262-4151 Fax: 608/262-4151 E-mail: clbrace@wisc.edu

Program Affiliations

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Physics
• Radiology

• School of Medicine and Public Health
• UW-Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
• University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center

Courses

• BME 201: Biomedical Engineering Design
• BME 399: Independent Study
• BME 601: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
• BME 699: Advanced Independent Study
• BME 790: Master's Research and Thesis
• BME 890: Pre-dissertation Research
• BME 990: Research and Thesis

Education

BS, Electrical Engineering: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, 2001.

BS, Physics: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, 2001.

MS, Electrical and Computer Engineering: University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2003.

PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering: University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2005.

Fields of Interest

Image-guided interventions and thermal ablation

Biomedical imaging

Multiphysics modeling

Bioelectromagnetics

Selected Awards, Honors and Societies

Best Oral Presentation, World Congress on Interventional Oncology, 2008.

New Investigator Award, Society of Thermal Medicine, 2007.

Harold A. Peterson Best Dissertation Award, 2005

University of Wisconsin Frank Rogers Bacon Fellowship, 2001-2003.

Senior Member, IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

Active Member, Society of Thermal Medicine

Selected Publications

• View PubMed listings
• Ahmed M, Brace CL, Lee FT Jr, Goldberg SN. Principles of and advances in percutaneous ablation. Radiology; 258(2):351-369, 2011.
• Hinshaw JL, Durick NA, Leung W, Lee FT Jr, Sampson LA, Brace CL. Temperature isotherms during pulmonary cryoablation and their correlation with the zone of ablation. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; 21(9):1424-1428, 2010.
• Brace CL. Microwave tissue ablation: Biophysics, technology and applications. Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering; 38(1):65-78, 2010.
• Lubner MG, Brace CL, Hinshaw JL, Lee FT Jr. Microwave tumor ablation: Mechanism of action, clinical results and devices. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; 21(8 suppl):S192-203, 2010.
• Jiang J, Brace CL, Andreano A, DeWall RJ, Rubert N, Fisher T, Varghese T, Lee FT Jr, Hall TJ. Ultrasound-based elastic modulus imaging for visualizing thermal ablation zones in a porcine model. Physics in Medicine and Biology; 55(8):2281-2306, 2010.
• Hinshaw JL, Sampson LA, Lee FT Jr, Brace CL. Optimizing the protocol for pulmonary cryoablation: A comparison of a dual and triple freeze protocol. Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology; 33:1180-5, 2010.
• Brace CL, Diaz TA, Hinshaw JL, Lee, FT Jr. Tissue contraction caused by radiofrequency and microwave ablation: A laboratory study in liver and lung. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; 21(8):1280-1286, 2010.
• Andreano A, Huang Y, Meloni MF, Lee FT Jr, Brace CL. Microwaves create larger ablations than radiofrequency when controlled for power in ex vivo tissue. Medical Physics; 37(6):2967-2973, 2010.
• Rubert N, Bharat S, DeWall RJ, Andreano A, Brace CL, Jiang J, Sampson LA, Varghese T. Electrode displacement strain imaging of thermally-ablated liver tissue in an in vivo animal model. Medical Physics; 37(3):1075-1082, 2010.
• Hinshaw JL, Durick NA, Leung W, Lee FT Jr, Warner TF, Sampson LA, and Brace CL. Radiology-pathology correlation for pulmonary cryoablation in a porcine model. Journal of Interventional Oncology; 2(2):73-79, 2009.
• Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Lee FT Jr and Brace CL. Multiple-antenna microwave ablation: Spatially distributing power improves thermal profiles and reduces invasiveness. Journal of Interventional Oncology; 2(2):65-72, 2009.
• Brace CL, Mistretta CA, Hinshaw JL, Lee FT Jr. Periodic contrast-enhanced computed tomography for ablation treatment monitoring. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology, 1:4299-4302, 2009.
• Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Lee FT Jr and Brace CL. Microwave ablation versus radiofrequency ablation in the kidney: High-power triaxial antennas create larger ablation zones than similarly sized internally cooled electrodes. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; Epub ahead of print, Jul 17 2009.
• Wang P, Brace CL, Converse M, Webster JW. Tumor boundary estimation through time domain peaks monitoring: Numerical predictions and experimental results in tissue mimicking phantoms. IEEE Transaction on Biomedical Engineering; Epub ahead of print, Jun 26 2009.
• Brace CL, Hinshaw JL, Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, and Lee FT Jr. Pulmonary thermal ablation: Comparing radiofrequency and microwave devices using gross pathology and CT imaging. Radiology; 251:705-711, 2009.
• Brace CL. Microwave ablation technology: What every user should know. Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology; 38:61-68, 2009.
• Brace CL. Microwave and radiofrequency ablation of the liver, lung, kidney and bone: What are the differences? Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology; 38:135-143, 2009.
• Jiang JJ, Varghese T, Brace CL, Madsen EL, Hall TJ, Bharat S, Hobson MA, Zagzebski JA, Lee FT Jr. Young's modulus reconstruction for radio-frequency ablation electrode-induced displacement fields: A feasibility study. IEEE Trans Medical Imaging; 28(8):1325-1334, 2009.
• Brace CL, Sampson LA, Hinshaw JL, Sandhu N, and Lee FT Jr. Radiofrequency ablation: Simultaneous application of multiple electrodes via switching creates larger, more confluent ablations than sequential application. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; 20:118-124, 2009.
• Hinshaw JL, Lee FT Jr, Sampson LA, and Brace CL. Does selective intubation increase ablation zone size during pulmonary cryoablation? Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; 19:1497-1501, 2008.
• Brace CL. Temperature-dependent dielectric properties of liver tissue measured during thermal ablation: Toward an improved numerical model. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology; 1:230-233, 2008.
• Durick N, Laeseke PF, Broderick LS, Warner TM, Frey TM, Sampson LA, Van der Weide DW, Lee FT Jr, and Brace CL. Microwave ablation with triaxial antennas tuned for lung: Results in an in vivo porcine model. Radiology; 247:80-87, 2008.
• Laeseke PF, Sampson LS, Frey TM, Mukherjee R, Winter TC III, Lee FT Jr and Brace CL. Multiple-electrode radiofrequency ablation: comparison with a conventional cluster electrode in an in vivo porcine kidney model. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology; 18:1005-1010, 2007.
• Brace CL, Laeseke PF, Frey TM, Sampson LS and Lee FT Jr. Radiofrequency ablation with a high-power generator: Device efficacy in an in vivo porcine liver model. International Journal of Hyperthermia; 23(4):387-294, 2007.
• Laeseke PF, Frey TM, Brace CL, Sampson LS, Winter TW III and Lee FT Jr. Multiple-electrode RF ablation of hepatic malignancies: Initial clinical experience. American Journal of Roentgenology; 188:1485-1494, 2007.
• Brace CL, Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Frey TM, van der Weide DW and Lee FT Jr. Microwave ablation with multiple simultaneously powered small-gauge triaxial antennas: Results from an in vivo swine liver model. Radiology; 244:151-156, 2007.
• Brace CL, Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Frey TM, van der Weide DW and Lee FT Jr. Microwave ablation with a single small-gauge triaxial antenna: In vivo porcine liver model. Radiology; 242:435-440, 2007.
• Brace CL, Microwave ablation technology avoids problems that plague RFA, offers promise for new applications. DiagnosticImaging.com feature, Mar 13, 2006.
• Brace CL, Laeseke PF, Prasad V and Lee FT Jr. Electrical isolation of organs during radiofrequency ablation: 5% dextrose in water provides better protection than saline. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology; 1:5021-5024, 2006.
• Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Haemmerich D, Brace CL, Fine JP, Tatum TM, Winter TC III and Lee FT Jr. Multiple-electrode radiofrequency ablation creates confluent areas of necrosis: Results in in vivo porcine liver. Radiology; 241:116-124, 2006.
• Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Brace CL, Winter TC III, Fine JP and Lee FT Jr. Unintended thermal injuries from radiofrequency ablation: Protection with 5% dextrose in water. American Journal of Roentgenology; 186:S249-S254, 2006.
• Laeseke PF, Sampson LA, Haemmerich D, Brace CL, Fine JP, Tatum TM, Winter TC III and Lee FT Jr. Multiple-electrode RF ablation: Simultaneous production of separate zones of coagulation in an in vivo porcine liver model. Journal of Vascular Interventional Radiology; 16(12):1727-1735, 2005.
• Brace CL, Laeseke PF, van der Weide DW and Lee FT Jr. Microwave ablation with a triaxial antenna: results in ex vivo bovine liver. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques; 53(1):215-220, 2005.
• Brace CL, van der Weide DW, Lee FT Jr, Laeseke PF and Sampson LA. Analysis and experimental validation of a triaxial antenna for microwave tumor ablation. 2004 IEEE International Microwave Symposium Digest; 3:1437-1440, 2004.

Summary

To inquire about graduate and undergraduate research positions, please email a copy of your CV and provide an outline of your proposed research topics.

We develop technologies for image-guided interventional medicine, especially thermal tumor ablation. Some of our current projects include:

New methods to treat cancer using microwave energy. The goal of this project is to optimize microwave technologies for clinical applications. We focus on percutaneous approaches using small-diameter applicators and power application using antenna arrays.

Improved computer modeling of tissue heating. New measurements of relevant tissue properties, multiphysics modeling, and validation studies are used to improve correspondence between simulation and experiment. We aim to shorten the development timeline for new technologies, and reduce the need for extensive animal studies.

Image-based monitoring of interventions. Our goal is to create a low-dose CT technique to monitor ablations and improve imaging-based visualization of ablation treatments.

We are also interested in nanoparticle heating for targeted therapy, post-treatment response monitoring using ultrasound and PET/CT/MRI, and applications outside of oncology.

Our research is multidisciplinary, with each project including aspects of electrical or biomedical engineering, medical imaging, biophysics, clinical medicine and radiology, numerical computation and veterinary medicine. As such, we are open to students or researchers of many disciplines and backgrounds. We are also a translational research group - all of our projects begin with a clinical focus. Many of our developments are now commercial products and/or in widespread clinical use.

Date last modified: 19-Aug-2011 Content by: clbrace@wisc.edu Accessibility Web services Copyright 2011 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System SEND AN UPDATE REQUEST.