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Krystal Kirby

Krystal Kirby, Ph.D.

 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Residency, Diagnostic Imaging Physics, 2022
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Ph.D., Medical Physics, 2020
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

B.S., Physics / Mathematical Sciences, 2014
University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research interests primarily focus on the imaging side of radiotherapy applications, such as development of 4D MRI methods for accurate motion tracking, synthetic CT generation and evaluation, imaging informatics, and MRI safety in the radiation oncology environment.

CERTIFICATIONS

Diplomat of the American Board of Radiology (DABR), 2023
Diagnostic Medical Physics

American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety (ABMRS), 2021
Magnetic Resonance Safety Expert (MRSE)

EMPLOYMENT

Diagnostic Imaging Medical Physicist, 2022-present
Department of Physics
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Baton Rouge, LA

Adjunct Faculty, ___ – present
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University

PUBLICATIONS

  1. Kirby, K., Schueler, B., Littrell, L., Long, Z. “Workload data for a modern digital radiography practice.” Under review.
  2. Fox, T., Chansangavej, S., Kirby, K., Cho, D., Rodriguez, R., Gare, G., Collins, G., Galeotti, J., Krishnan, A., deBoisblanc, B., “Effects of Lung Ultrasound Technique and Pleural Line Depth on In Vitro and In Vivo Measurements of Pleural Line Thickness.” Ultrasound Med Biol. 2023;S0301-5629(23)00311-3. doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.09.010
  3. Kirby, KM, Ren, L, Daly, TR, et al. Impact of flexible noise control (FNC) image processing parameters on portable chest radiography. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2022; e13812. https://doi.org/10.1002/acm2.13812
  4. Kirby, KM, Koons, EK, Welker, KM, Fagan, AJ. Minimizing MR image geometric distortion at 7 Tesla for frameless presurgical planning using skin-adhered fiducials. Med. Phys. 2022; 00-00. https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.16035
  5. Kirby, KM, Pillai, S, Brouillette, RM, Keller, J. N., De Vito, A. N., Bernstein, J. P., … Carmichael, O. T. (2021). Neuroimaging, Behavioral, and Gait Correlates of Fall Profile in Older Adults. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13(51). doi:10.3389/fnagi.2021.630049.
  6. Apolzan, J. W., Carmichael, O. T., Fearnbach, S. N., Kirby, K. M., Ramakrishnapillai, S. R., Beyl, R. A., Martin, C. K. “The effects of the form of sugar (solid vs. beverage) on body weight and neuronal activity: a 28-day randomized study.” PLoS One. 2021.
  7. Kirby, K., Ramakrishnapillai, S., Carmichael, O., and Van Gemmert, A. (2019) “Brain functional differences in visuo-motor task adaptation between dominant and non-dominant hand training.” Exp Brain Res. 2019.

Peer-reviewed Journal Publications

  1. M. Ghafarian, D. Mazeiro, J. Deng, K. Kirby, E. Mellon, A. Kishan, C. Schneider, Cao, M. Wu, T. “MRI Sequences and Technologies in Adaptive Radiation Therapy.” Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. Accepted for publication Apr 2025.
  2. Burkett, B., Fagan, A., Kirby, K., Ahmed, Z., Brinkmann, B., Blezek, D., Burkholder, D., Krecke, K., Messina, S., Witte, R., Welker, K. “7-Tesla MRI Automated Software Segmentation of the Hippocampus for Epilepsy: Prospective Performance Evaluation.” American Journal of Neuroradiology. Accepted for publication Mar 2025.
  3. Smith, B., Medlock, L., Solis, D., Kirby, K., Dey, J. “Maximum-Likelihood Estimation of Glandular Fraction for Mammography and its Effect on Microcalcification Detection.” Phys. Eng. Sci. Med. Accepted for publication Apr 2025.
  4. “AAPM Task Group 117: Use of MRI Data in Treatment Planning and Stereotactic Procedures – Spatial Accuracy and Quality Control Procedures.” Under review.

Conference Abstracts

  1. M. Aire, O. Magneson, D. Solis, K. Kirby. “Improving 4D-MRI Parameters for Abdominal Tumor Motion Management: A Phantom Study.” To be presented at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Jul 2025.
  2. O. Magneson, M. Aire, H. Spears, D. Solis, K. Kirby. “Comparison of Respiratory Motion between 4D-MR and 4D-CT in Compression Belt Patients.” To be presented at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Jul 2025.
  3. A. Rohani, S. Stathakis, C. Schneider, K. Kirby. “Comprehensive Assessment of a Large Field of View Phantom for Routine MR Image Quality on a 1.5T MRgRT System.” To be presented at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Jul 2025.
  4. K. Kirby. “MR Siting and Shielding.” To be presented at the AAPM Summer School: Clinical MR Physics: State of the Art. Denver, CO. Jun 2025.
  5. K. Kirby. “MR Safety: Basics.” To be presented at the AAPM Summer School: Clinical MR Physics: State of the Art. Denver, CO. Jun 2025.
  6. K. Kirby. “Safety considerations of scanning implanted devices on Elekta Unity.” Elekta Unity Users Conference. Baton Rouge, LA. Mar 2025.
  7. K. Kirby. “Clinical implementation of the Quasar Insight phantom on the Elekta Unity: One year’s experience.” IBA/Quasar Users Meeting, AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting. Henderson, NV. Mar 2025.
  8. M. Aire, O. Magneson, D. Solis, K. Kirby. “An optimization of 4D-MR for clinical use.” Early Career Investigator Symposium, Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Feb 2025.
  9. O. Magneson, M. Aire, D. Solis, K. Kirby. “Comparison of Respiratory Motion between 4D-MR and 4D-CT in Compression Belt Patients.” Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Feb 2025.
  10. O. Magneson, K. Kirby. “Just Breathe: Using a Compression Belt to Steady Tumors and Improve Radiation Precision.” SLAM competition; SWAAPM Regional Chapter Meeting. Baton Rouge, LA. Feb 2025.
  11. K. Kirby. “Updates to the 2024 ACR Manual on MR Safety.” Southwest AAPM Chapter Meeting. Baton Rouge, LA. Feb 2025.
  12. K. Kirby, R. Dugan, C. Schneider, S. Stathakis. “Initial Assessment of a Large Field of View Phantom for Routine MR Image Quality on a 1.5T MRgRT System.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  13. C. DiTusa, P. Mavroidis, G. Debevec, C. Schneider, K. Kirby, S. Stathakis. “Making the Right Decisions for Adaptive Radiotherapy.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  14. C. Schneider, K. Kirby, S. Stathakis. “Implementation of Third Party Auto-Contouring Software into the 1.5-T MR-Linac Adaptive Workflow.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  15. C. DiTusa, C. Schneider, J. Chen, A. Husain, P. Mavroidis, G. Debevec, K. Kirby, D. Solis, G. Pitcher, S. Stathakis. “Evaluation of 2 Commercial AI Segmentation Systems.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  16. R. Dugan, D. Solis, E. Chorniak, K. Kirby. “Effect of Respiratory Regularity and Scan Plane on Displacement Accuracy in a Clinical Stack-of-Stars MRI Pulse Sequence.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  17. M. Aire, R. Dugan, D. Solis, K. Kirby. “Displacement Comparison of Stack-of-Stars 4D-MR and 4D-CT Using Clinical Respiratory Waveforms.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  18. M. Aire, C. Matthews, C. Schneider, S. Stathakis, K. Kirby. “Analysis of Geometric Distortion in AI-Generated Synthetic CTs Created by an FDA-Approved Clinical Software Solution.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.
  19. C. Matthews, M. Aire, S. Stathakis, K. Kirby, C. Schneider. “A Comparison of Electron Densities between Reference and AI-Generated Pseudo-CTs for MRI-Based Treatment Planning.” American Association of Physicists in Medicine Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. Jul 2024.