Research

Current Projects

Developing Imaging and Analysis Tools for Lymphoscintigraphy in Lymphedema

Lymphedema occurs when a part of the lymphatic system fails to remove lymph fluid, affecting over 10 million individuals in the United States. Although lymphoscintigraphy (2D planar imaging) has long been regarded as the gold standard with high sensitivity for diagnosing lymphedema, it is limited by noise and lack of quantitative imaging and analysis tools. To overcome these limitations, we are developing a denoising solution along with quantitative imaging and analysis tools to enhance lymphoscintigraphy for lymphedema diagnosis.

lymphoscintigraphy schematic

Publications

Peer-reviewed original research

1. Udayakumar D, Zhang Z, Xi Y, Dwivedi DK, Fulkerson M, Haldeman S, McKenzie T, Yousuf Q, Joyce A, Hajibeigi A, Notgrass H, de Leon AD, Yuan Q, Lewis MA, Madhuranthakam AJ, Sibley RC, Elias R, Guo J, Christie A, McKay RM, Cadeddu JA, Bagrodia A, Margulis V, Brugarolas J, Wang T, Kapur P, Pedrosa I. Deciphering Intratumoral Molecular Heterogeneity in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma with a Radiogenomics Platform. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Sep 1;27(17):4794-4806. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8493519.

2. Rasmussen RG, Xi Y, Sibley RC, Lee C, Cadeddu JA, Pedrosa I. Association of Clear Cell Likelihood Score on MRI and Growth Kinetics of Small Solid Renal Masses on Active Surveillance. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2021 Jul 21; PubMed PMID: 34286596.

3. Pirasteh, A., Sorra, E.A., Marquez, H. Sibley, RC, Yokoo T. LI-RADS treatment response algorithm after first-line DEB-TACE: reproducibility and prognostic value at initial post-treatment CT/MRI. Abdom Radiol 46, 3708–3716 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-021-03043-6

4. Sibley RC, Ayers C, King B, Browning T, Kwon J. Decreasing Patient Dwell Times for Outpatient Cardiac Nuclear Medicine Studies: The Benefits of SMART Goals, Scope Limitations, and Society Guidelines in Quality Improvement. Current Problems Diagnostic Radiology. Sep-Oct 2020. PMID: 32321661

5. Regan E, Sibley RC, Cenik BK, Silva A, Girad L, Minna JD, Dellinger MT (2016). Identification of Gene Expression Differences between Lymphangiogenic and Non-Lymphangiogenic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines. PLoS One. Mar 7; 11(3).

Peer-reviewed publications 

1. Chavda R, Aldine AS, Pillai A, Soni J, Sibley RC. Hepatic Arterial Infusion Pump Complication With Multimodal Radiologic and Anatomic Review. Clin Nucl Med. 2025 Apr 1;50(4):e225-e228. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000005644. Epub 2024 Dec 30. PMID: 39787415.

2. Batra K, Kay FU, Sibley RC, Peshock RM. Imaging of Acute Pulmonary Embolism: An Update. Radiol Clin North Am. 2025 Mar;63(2):207-222. doi: 10.1016/j.rcl.2024.08.003. Epub 2024 Sep 14. PMID: 39863375.

3. Frankl J, Rajamohan N, Yang J, Sibley RC. PET/MRI evaluation of hepatobiliary tumors. Q J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2024 Dec 9. doi: 10.23736/S1824-4785.24.03607-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39652306.

4. Yang J, Afaq A, Sibley R, McMilan A, Pirasteh A. Deep learning applications for quantitative and qualitative PET in PET/MR: technical and clinical unmet needs. MAGMA. 2024 Aug;37(4):749-763. doi: 10.1007/s10334-024-01199-y. Epub 2024 Aug 21. PMID: 39167304.

5. Sibley RC, Parsai B, Loening AM, Tsai L (2023). MRI of Lymphedema. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. PMID: 36271779

6. Sibley RC, MacFarlane J, Reis SP, Reddick MA, Kalva SP, Sutphin PD (2017). Noninvasive Physiologic Vascular Studies: A Guide to Diagnosing Peripheral Arterial Disease. Radiographics. Jan 2017. PMID: 27689831

7. Kandathil A, Sibley RC, Subramaniam RM (2019). Lung Cancer Recurrence: 18FDG PET/CT in Clinical Practice. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2019 Jul 30. PMID 31361525.

8. Williams LE, Sohner MT, Sibley RC, Pfeifer CM (2019). Multimodality Depiction of Findings in Branchio-Oto-Renal Syndrome: Two Case Reports. Acta Radiologica Open. PMID: 24809281.

9. Toliyat M, Singh K, Sibley RC, Reis SP, Kalva SP, Pillai AK. (2017). Growing Role of Interventional Radiology in Managing Thoracic Duct Injuries: A Pictorial Essay Depicting the Latest Developments and Interventional Approaches. Clin Imaging. PMID: 28103513.

Non-Peer-reviewed Articles 

1. Crow, D. Sibley RC. Primary Lymphedema Report. 2024 Update for the National Organization for Rare Diseases.

2. Sibley RC, Subramaniam RM. SPECT/CT: Looking Beyond Sentinel Lymph Node Identification for Improving Patient Outcomes. Ann Surg Oncol. 2018 Jun;25(6):1467-1468. PMID: 29218428.

3. Sibley RC, de Figueiredo, P (2011). Click Chemistry in Generation of Mammalian Acetylome to Study Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. Texas A&M Fellows Thesis Repository.

Book Chapters

1. Sibley RC, Rockson SG. New and Emerging Therapies for Lymphedema: Anti-inflammatory and Anti-fibrotic Therapies. In: Schaverien MV, Dayan JH, eds. Multimodal Management of Upper and Lower Extremity Lymphedema. Springer International Publishing; 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93039-4

2. Sibley RC, Rockson SG. Lymphedema: Evaluation and Decision Making. In: Sidaway AP, Perler BA, eds. Rutherford’s Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy. 10th edition. Elsevier. 2022.

Selected Abstracts

1. Sibley, RC, Varghese GM, Rockson SG. Ultrasonographic skin changes after early therapeutic LTB4 antagonism in lymphedema. Presented at the 2023 Lymphatic Forum.

2. Sibley RC, Loening AM. Imaging and quantitating the peripheral and central lymphatic systems using Iron Oxide Nanoparticle MR Lymphangiography (ION-MRL). Presented at the 2023 Lymphatic Forum.

3. Sibley RC, Vasanawala S, Loening AM. Iron Oxide Nanoparticle MR Lymphangiography (ION-MRL): A quantitative technique for assessing the peripheral and central lymphatic systems. Presented at the 2023 ISMRM meeting.

4. Sibley RC, Yoon JP, Loening AM (2022). The Subcutaneous Thickness Fraction: A new quantitative imaging metric that correlates with Lymphedema Stage. Presented at the 2022 ISMRM meeting.

5. Sibley RC, Loening AM (2022). Staging Lymphedema with Dual Agent Relaxivity Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DARC-MRL). Presented at the 2022 ISMRM meeting.

6. Sibley RC, Loening AM (2022). Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Magnetic Resonance Lymphangiography (ION-MRL): A Simplified Technique for Evaluating the Peripheral and Central Lymphatic System. Presented at the 2022 ISMRM meeting.

7. Tainter KH, Lokitz SJ, Khandelwal AR, Hawley M, Sibley RC, Rembert T, Mathis JM, Takalkar AM (2011). Clinical Hand Imaging using a Primate PET Scanner. Presented at 2011 meeting of the Southwestern Chapter Society of Nuclear Medicine.

8. Sibley RC, Subramaniam RM (2018). Lymphatic imaging: A Clinical Perspective. Presented at the National Lymphedema Network 2017 Dallas, TX.

9. Sibley RC, Dellinger MT, Brekken RA (2014). Identification of Drivers of Tumor Lymphagniogenesis in NSCLC. Presented at the 52nd UTSW Student Research Forum and 55th National Student Research Forum.