Perry Hall Student Presents CT Scanner Research in England

A senior at Perry Hall High School is already missing some school time.

But in the case of Ajay Mahesh, he isn't playing hooky—he's skipping across the pond to a medical physics conference.

Mahesh, 16, joined a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University in presenting research into improving Computed Topography (CT) scanners, at the International Conference on Medical Physics in Brighton, England.

The conference is a four-day presentation of medical physics findings from around the world.

Over the span of a year, Mahesh helped researchers use a computer program called "SAFIRE" to determine an algorithm that improves the output of CT scanners, which provide doctors with images of bone and tissue inside a patient's body.

In addition to more detailed imaging, the algorithm discovered by the team also reduces the amount of radiation a patient absorbs in the scanning process, according to a press release from Baltimore County Public Schools.

Mahesh also showcased his work at the BCPS Research Symposium in the spring, with 24 other student research projects.

"I never expected to go to another country to present," Mahesh said in the press release.

He said the work of his father, a radiology professor, and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins inspired him to get into the medical physics field.

"I used to look up to these people, and now they can look at my work as I have looked at theirs," Mahesh said.

After graduation, Mahesh plans to study biomedical physics at Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland at College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Penn State or Drexel.

"We are excited and proud that he [is] presenting his research in the United Kingdom as part of the Johns Hopkins research team," said Perry Hall principal George Roberts.