معرفی
Dr. Franck Vidal is a Senior Lecturer and Acting Director of Research at the School of Computer Science & Electronic Engineering at Bangor University, where he is also a member of the Visualization and Medical Graphics (VMG) Group and the Research Institute of Visual Computing (RIVIC).
His educational background includes:
- PhD in Computer Science from Bangor University (2008)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (2016)
- Diplôme d'études approfondies Images et Systèmes from Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (2003)
- Master of Science in Computer-Aided Graphical Technology Applications from Teesside University (2002)
Dr. Vidal's research focuses on X-ray imaging and simulation, non-destructive testing by ionising radiation, inverse problems, optimisation and artificial evolution, high performance computing, computer vision, image analysis and machine learning, and image-based simulation. His work has significant applications in medical imaging and medical physics, including X-ray, CT, MRI, PET and radiotherapy. He applies evolutionary algorithms to solve complex inverse problems in medical imaging.
His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on GPU-accelerated X-ray simulation technologies, particularly through the gVirtualXRay library, which enables real-time simulation of X-ray images and CT volumes. His work bridges the gap between computational physics, medical imaging, and practical clinical applications, with significant contributions to PET reconstruction algorithms using the Fly algorithm.
Among his notable achievements:
- 2nd place in the Eurographics 2009 Medical Prize for ImaGINe-S
- David Duce Prize for the Best Short Paper (2019)
- Best Poster Presentation award (2022)
- Development of the gVirtualXRay open source library
- Multiple publications on evolutionary algorithms for medical imaging
Dr. Vidal has supervised multiple research students including Julien Lavauzelle and Adrien Dutertre from ENSTA ParisTech. He has secured funding for significant projects including Fly4PET (focused on PET reconstruction for radiotherapy) and RAMPVIS (visualization for pandemic response). He actively collaborates with institutions worldwide, including INRIA in France and the University of California, San Diego.
He leads the development of several innovative projects including gVirtualXRay (a GPU-based X-ray imaging library), Fly4Arts (evolutionary art using the Fly algorithm), and RASimAs (a regional anaesthesia simulator and assistant), demonstrating his ability to translate theoretical research into practical applications across medical and non-medical domains.
