Inspired by the £5.7 million Raman Nanotheranostics (RaNT) research programme funded by the EPSRC, we invite you to attend this FREE 3-day conference hosted by the University of Exeter in the beautiful heart of the South West of the UK, 5th – 7th September 2022.
Inspired by the £5.7 million Raman Nanotheranostics (RaNT) research programme funded by the EPSRC, we invite you to attend this FREE 3-day conference hosted by the University of Exeter in the beautiful heart of the South West of the UK, 5th – 7th September 2022.
This will be a unique in-person meeting for early career researchers (ECRs), focussing on next generation healthcare technologies. The conference will combine discussions on the latest developments in:
Disease detection & monitoring with DEEP RAMAN & other spectroscopic techniques
Design of TARGETED NANOPHARMACEUTICALS & imaging distribution/accumulation with MULTIPHOTON TECHNIQUES
Tuning of BIOCOMPATIBLE NANOPARTICLE CONTSRUCTS for clinical applications
PHOTOTHERMAL THERAPY
Clinical translation of novel THERANOSTIC HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES
This will be a unique in-person meeting for early career researchers (ECRs), focussing on next generation healthcare technologies. The conference will combine discussions on the latest developments in:
Disease detection & monitoring with DEEP RAMAN & other spectroscopic techniques
Design of TARGETED NANOPHARMACEUTICALS & imaging distribution/accumulation with MULTIPHOTON TECHNIQUES
Tuning of BIOCOMPATIBLE NANOPARTICLE CONTSRUCTS for clinical applications
PHOTOTHERMAL THERAPY
Clinical translation of novel THERANOSTIC HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Coherent Raman scattering (CRS) microscopy utilizing fingerprint vibrational spectroscopic signals opens a new window to map the chemical contents in living cells temporally and spatially. Such capacity opens a new window to visualize the orchestra of molecules and/or biological structures inside living systems. Cheng and his research team have been dedicated to pushing the boundary of coherent Raman scattering microscopy through developing novel instrumentation and data science approaches, discovering molecular signatures in diseases, and commercializing the technology for molecule-based precision diagnosis. Here, Cheng will present his team’s most recent advances, including plasmonic CRS towards ultrasensitive chemical imaging [1], computational SRS microscopy to break the trade-off between speed and signal to noise ratio [2]; SRS-FISH to bridge single cell metabolism and identity [3]. Cheng will also present most recent applications towards precision medicine, including Rapid AST [4], drug action mechanism [5], and multi-color SRS histology. Finally, latest progress in miniaturization and commercialization of SRS microscope will be discussed.
References
BOSTON University
Photonics Center, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA 02459
Ji-Xin Cheng attended the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) from 1989 to 1994. From 1994 to 1998, he carried out his PhD study on bond-selective chemistry at USTC. As a graduate student, he worked as a research assistant at Universite Paris-sud (France) on vibrational spectroscopy, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on quantum dynamics theory.
After postdoctoral training on ultrafast spectroscopy at HKUST, he joined Sunney Xie’s group at Harvard University as a postdoc, where he spearheaded the development of CARS microscopy that allows high-speed vibrational imaging.
Cheng joined Purdue University in 2003 as Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry, promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and Full Professor in 2013. He joined Boston University as the Inaugural Theodore Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics in summer 2017.
Cheng and his team have constantly been at the forefront of biophotonics in innovation, discovery, and clinical translation.
For his contributions to the field of vibrational spectroscopic imaging, Cheng received the 2020 Pittsburg Spectroscopy Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburg, the 2019 Ellis R. Lippincott Award from OSA, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, Coblentz Society, the 2016 Research Award from Purdue University College of Engineering, and the 2015 Craver Award from Coblentz Society.
Cheng has authored over 290 peer-reviewed articles and has a h-index of 87 (Google Scholar).
His research has been supported by over $35 million funding from federal agencies including NIH, NSF, DoD, DoE and private foundations including the Keck Foundation.
In 2014 He co-founded Vibronix Inc. which has the mission of saving lives through medical device innovations. In 2019, he co-founded Pulsethera aiming to kill superbugs by photolysis of intrinsic chromophores.
Cheng is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, a Fellow of the American Institute of Medicine and Biological Engineering, and associate editor of Science Advances.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Coherent Raman scattering (CRS) microscopy utilizing fingerprint vibrational spectroscopic signals opens a new window to map the chemical contents in living cells temporally and spatially. Such capacity opens a new window to visualize the orchestra of molecules and/or biological structures inside living systems. Cheng and his research team have been dedicated to pushing the boundary of coherent Raman scattering microscopy through developing novel instrumentation and data science approaches, discovering molecular signatures in diseases, and commercializing the technology for molecule-based precision diagnosis. Here, Cheng will present his team’s most recent advances, including plasmonic CRS towards ultrasensitive chemical imaging [1], computational SRS microscopy to break the trade-off between speed and signal to noise ratio [2]; SRS-FISH to bridge single cell metabolism and identity [3]. Cheng will also present most recent applications towards precision medicine, including Rapid AST [4], drug action mechanism [5], and multi-color SRS histology. Finally, latest progress in miniaturization and commercialization of SRS microscope will be discussed.
References
BOSTON University
Photonics Center, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA 02459
Ji-Xin Cheng attended the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) from 1989 to 1994. From 1994 to 1998, he carried out his PhD study on bond-selective chemistry at USTC. As a graduate student, he worked as a research assistant at Universite Paris-sud (France) on vibrational spectroscopy, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on quantum dynamics theory.
After postdoctoral training on ultrafast spectroscopy at HKUST, he joined Sunney Xie’s group at Harvard University as a postdoc, where he spearheaded the development of CARS microscopy that allows high-speed vibrational imaging.
Cheng joined Purdue University in 2003 as Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry, promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and Full Professor in 2013. He joined Boston University as the Inaugural Theodore Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics in summer 2017.
Cheng and his team have constantly been at the forefront of biophotonics in innovation, discovery, and clinical translation.
For his contributions to the field of vibrational spectroscopic imaging, Cheng received the 2020 Pittsburg Spectroscopy Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburg, the 2019 Ellis R. Lippincott Award from OSA, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, Coblentz Society, the 2016 Research Award from Purdue University College of Engineering, and the 2015 Craver Award from Coblentz Society.
Cheng has authored over 290 peer-reviewed articles and has a h-index of 87 (Google Scholar).
His research has been supported by over $35 million funding from federal agencies including NIH, NSF, DoD, DoE and private foundations including the Keck Foundation.
In 2014 He co-founded Vibronix Inc. which has the mission of saving lives through medical device innovations. In 2019, he co-founded Pulsethera aiming to kill superbugs by photolysis of intrinsic chromophores.
Cheng is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, a Fellow of the American Institute of Medicine and Biological Engineering, and associate editor of Science Advances.
The delivery of medical agents to a specific diseased tissue or cell is critical for diagnosing and treating patients. Nanomaterials can transport drugs, contrast agents, immunotherapies, and gene editors to diseased sites. However, less than 1% are delivered to solid tumours, impacting their use and clinical translation for cancer applications. In this presentation, I will discuss the challenge of delivering medical agents and nanoparticles to solid tumours. The seminar will discuss the impact of nanoparticle design and biology on the in vivo transport process. It will finish with a discussion of strategies to overcome the delivery problem with nano-bio interaction studies, machine learning, and computational analysis.
University of TORONTO
Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, 164 College St., Room 407, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9
Dr. Chan is currently a professor and head of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He is the Canadian Research Chair in Nanoengineering.
He received his B.S. degree from the University of Illinois in 1996, Ph.D. degree from Indiana University in 2001, and post-doctoral training at the University of California (San Diego).
His lab develops nanotechnology for diagnosing and treating cancer and infectious diseases.
Some of his awards include NSERC E. W. R. Memorial Steacie Fellowship, Kabiller Young Investigator Award in Nanomedicine (Northwestern University), Rank Prize Fund award in Optoelectronics (England), and Dennis Gabor Award (Hungary).
He is currently an Associate Editor of ACS Nano.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Diffuse optics can be used for the non-invasive in-depth optical characterization of highly diffusive media, such as biological tissues. Operating in the time domain, picosecond light pulses are injected into the medium and the reemitted pulses are collected at a known distance. Interpreting the effects of photon migration in the medium with a suitable theoretical model (typically the diffusion approximation to the radiative transport theory), both absorption and scattering properties can be retrieved from a single measurement. When measurements are performed at several wavelengths in the near-infrared spectral range, tissue composition (in terms of lipids, water & collagen concentrations) and physiological information (blood volume & oxygenation level) can be estimated from the absorption properties, while scattering provides information on the microscopic structure.
Broadband time domain diffuse optics will be introduced. Potential advantages and limitations for its use in in vivo diagnostics will be highlighted outlining, as a paradigmatic example, its application to breast cancer management, including:
Politecnico di MILANO
Dipartimento di Fisica, Edificio 8, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milano MI, Italia
Paola Taroni is full Professor of Physics at Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy) since 2011, and was Head of the PhD Program in Physics in 2013-2018.
She is co-author of about 140 scientific papers on international peer-reviewed journals (h-index: 45).
Her research activity concerns mainly the development of photonics systems for time-resolved spectroscopy and imaging, and their diagnostic applications in biology and medicine. This includes time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy with special attention to breast imaging. Also, spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging for medical diagnostics and microscopy.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Diffuse optics can be used for the non-invasive in-depth optical characterization of highly diffusive media, such as biological tissues. Operating in the time domain, picosecond light pulses are injected into the medium and the reemitted pulses are collected at a known distance. Interpreting the effects of photon migration in the medium with a suitable theoretical model (typically the diffusion approximation to the radiative transport theory), both absorption and scattering properties can be retrieved from a single measurement. When measurements are performed at several wavelengths in the near-infrared spectral range, tissue composition (in terms of lipids, water & collagen concentrations) and physiological information (blood volume & oxygenation level) can be estimated from the absorption properties, while scattering provides information on the microscopic structure.
Broadband time domain diffuse optics will be introduced. Potential advantages and limitations for its use in in vivo diagnostics will be highlighted outlining, as a paradigmatic example, its application to breast cancer management, including:
Politecnico di MILANO
Dipartimento di Fisica, Edificio 8, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milano MI, Italia
Paola Taroni is full Professor of Physics at Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy) since 2011, and was Head of the PhD Program in Physics in 2013-2018.
She is co-author of about 140 scientific papers on international peer-reviewed journals (h-index: 45).
Her research activity concerns mainly the development of photonics systems for time-resolved spectroscopy and imaging, and their diagnostic applications in biology and medicine. This includes time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy with special attention to breast imaging. Also, spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging for medical diagnostics and microscopy.
Phantoms play a critical role in the testing, characterisation, calibration and development of Biophotonics devices. The recent success of translational research in Biophotonics emphasises the requirement for standardised tools to accelerate device development. In this talk, a wide range of phantoms that can fast-track device development from lab to clinic will be presented. An example of a standardised approach for performance assessment and quality-control of a biomedical medical device based on optical phantoms will be presented. This approach is tailored to meet the requirements of the Medical Device Regulation and is extendable to other biophotonics devices.
Irish Photonic Integration Centre
Tyndall National Institute,
Lee Maltings Complex, Dyke Parade, Cork T12 R5CP, Ireland
Dr. Sanathana Konugolu Venkata Sekar is a leading scientist/entrepreneur with a decade of experience in Biophotonics. He is also a co-founder of BioPixS Ltd-Biophotonics Standards, a spin-off of his research work, and vice-chair of OSA non-imaging optical design technical group.
As a budding deep-tech researcher/entrepreneur, he has played multiple roles as guest editor, reviewer, director, chair/organizer of events and workshops, rapporteur/moderator at international events/panels, and research lead in multiple projects contributing to novel innovations in Biophotonics.
He has secured 5 grants totalling 1 million euros in 2020, and has been instrumental in securing other industrial targeted projects.
He co-supervises 5 PhD students, 2 post-docs and a research engineer, as well as mentoring many more students and entrepreneurs. His vision is to translate cutting-edge Biophotonics research into breakthrough healthcare products to benefit society.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Diagnosis of neurological disease is difficult, particularly in the early stages of disease progression, where patients present few clinical symptoms. Once symptoms are present, methods used for neurochemical sensing are often invasive, and require complex sample preparation steps and long collection times. For neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, the presence of symptoms indicates irreversible neurodegeneration, which results in pharmaceutical intervention being aimed towards managing symptoms, as opposed to treating or reversing neurodegeneration. There is an urgent need for the development of neurochemical sensing methods for early disease detection that are rapid, label-free, selective, and involve little to no sample preparation. Our group is developing Raman spectroscopic methods for in vitro and in vivo detection of neurochemicals. For both in vitro and in vivo detection, we utilize surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS)-based nanoprobes. We are also driving the development and application of spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) combined with SERS (SESORS) for non-invasive detection of neurochemicals in the brain. Here, I will discuss recent advances in SERS and SESORS for neurochemical detection.
University of TENNESSEE
Department of Chemistry, Buehler Hall, Room 309, 1416 Circle Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
Bhavya Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee. She received a B.S. and M.S. from SUNY at Buffalo, Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2011, and postdoctoral training at Northwestern University.
Bhavya’s research focuses on development of in vitro SERS assays for neurochemicals associated with neurological diseases, as well as development of surface-enhanced spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SESORS) for non-invasive, in vivo neurochemical sensing.
Bhavya was recently awarded the 2021 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award from Spectroscopy Magazine.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Diagnosis of neurological disease is difficult, particularly in the early stages of disease progression, where patients present few clinical symptoms. Once symptoms are present, methods used for neurochemical sensing are often invasive, and require complex sample preparation steps and long collection times. For neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, the presence of symptoms indicates irreversible neurodegeneration, which results in pharmaceutical intervention being aimed towards managing symptoms, as opposed to treating or reversing neurodegeneration. There is an urgent need for the development of neurochemical sensing methods for early disease detection that are rapid, label-free, selective, and involve little to no sample preparation. Our group is developing Raman spectroscopic methods for in vitro and in vivo detection of neurochemicals. For both in vitro and in vivo detection, we utilize surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS)-based nanoprobes. We are also driving the development and application of spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) combined with SERS (SESORS) for non-invasive detection of neurochemicals in the brain. Here, I will discuss recent advances in SERS and SESORS for neurochemical detection.
University of TENNESSEE
Department of Chemistry, Buehler Hall, Room 309, 1416 Circle Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
Bhavya Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee. She received a B.S. and M.S. from SUNY at Buffalo, Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2011, and postdoctoral training at Northwestern University.
Bhavya’s research focuses on development of in vitro SERS assays for neurochemicals associated with neurological diseases, as well as development of surface-enhanced spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SESORS) for non-invasive, in vivo neurochemical sensing.
Bhavya was recently awarded the 2021 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award from Spectroscopy Magazine.
Emerging healthcare needs and initiatives, including global health care, personalized medicine, and point-of-care applications are demanding breakthrough advancements in diagnostic tools. Biosensors play an essential role in bioanalytics, but traditional methods are limited in precision, affordability, integration or portability. Furthermore, they require long detection times, sophisticated infrastructure, and trained personnel. Our research group addresses these challenges by developing next-generation optical biosensors, spectroscopy and bioimaging technologies with nanophotonics, nanofabrication, microfluidics, surface chemistry and data science. Using nanophotonics we engineer nanostructures that can confine light below the fundamental diffraction limit and generate strong electromagnetic fields at important spectral ranges including visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared. Through nano-scale optical effects, we increase light-matter interaction to achieve high sensitivity, accuracy, throughput, rapid response, on-chip integration and miniaturization. We introduce wafer-scale nanofabrication methods for low-cost manufacturing of nanophotonic substrates. We integrate our nanophotonic chips with microfluidics for efficient sample handling and employ surface functionalization and biopatterning approaches for operation in complex samples. We use smart data science tools to achieve higher device performance. In this talk, I will present our recent effort in these directions.
École polytechnique fédérale de LAUSANNE
EPFL STI IBI-STI BIOS
Station 17, BM 4125
1015 Lausanne,
Switzerland
Prof. Altug is a world-leading expert in nanophotonics and its application to biosensing, spectroscopy and imaging for life science research, disease diagnostics and point-of-care testing.
She received her Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University (U.S.) in 2007 and her B.S. in Physics from Bilkent University (Turkey) in 2000.
As Full Professor at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), she is the head of BioNanoPhotonic Systems laboratory and the director of EPFL’s doctoral school in photonics.
Prof. Altug is the recipient of numerous awards including European Physical Society Emmy Noether Distinction, Optical Society of America Adolph Lomb Medal, U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, IEEE Photonics Society Young Investigator Award and Koc University Science Medal.
She received ERC Consolidator and Proof of Concept Grants, U.S. ONR Young Investigator Award, U.S. NSF CAREER Award, Massachusetts Life Science Center New Investigator Award.
She is the elected fellow of Optical Society of America. In 2011, she has been named to Popular Science Magazine’s “Brilliant 10” list.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
This presentation will focus on four examples, which provide an overview of the research conducted in the area of Raman spectroscopy for disease detection by The Stevens Group at Imperial College London.
(1) We will show how self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are used to functionalize Au-nanopillar substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We discriminate between lysed HS578T breast carcinoma cells and Hs578Bst normal fibroblast-like cells using SERS with multiple SAM-functionalized surfaces (Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 207).
(2) We present the Single Particle Automated Raman Trapping Analysis (SPARTA) technology, which allows for high-throughput characterization of single nanoparticles (Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 4256). We will demonstrate how the SPARTA technology can characterize the composition of extracellular vesicles and how this approach can be used in cancer diagnostics (ACS Nano, 2021, 15, 18192-18205).
(3) We will show how confocal Raman spectroscopy is used for In vivo biomolecular imaging of zebrafish embryos (an important model organism) to visualize complex biological processes such as wound responses (Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 6172).
(4) Last, we will show a comprehensive framework for higher-throughput molecular imaging via deep-learning-enabled Raman spectroscopy, which can be applied to Raman imaging in biomedical sciences. The framework consists of denoising (resulting in higher signal-to-noise spectra) and a neural network for robust spatial super-resolution of hyperspectral Raman images, which preserve molecular cellular information. This framework speeds up Raman imagining, enabling good-quality cellular imaging with a high resolution and a high signal-to-noise ratio at a reduced time cost (Anal. Chem. 2021, 93,15850-15860).
IMPERIAL College London
The Stevens Group, Royal School of Mines, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
Carl is currently occupying a position as a research associate in the Stevens Group (Prof. Molly Stevens) at Imperial College London. In the Stevens Group, Carl works as a data scientist and is responsible for algorithm development and data analysis workflows related to diagnostic systems based on Raman spectroscopy.
Carl holds an MSc in process analytical technology (PAT) and a PhD in chemometrics and vibrational spectroscopy from the University of Copenhagen. He has experience as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen, NOFIMA in Oslo, and the University of Amsterdam, where he worked on estimating sample-specific prediction uncertainties of various spectroscopic measurements.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
This presentation will focus on four examples, which provide an overview of the research conducted in the area of Raman spectroscopy for disease detection by The Stevens Group at Imperial College London.
(1) We will show how self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are used to functionalize Au-nanopillar substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We discriminate between lysed HS578T breast carcinoma cells and Hs578Bst normal fibroblast-like cells using SERS with multiple SAM-functionalized surfaces (Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 207).
(2) We present the Single Particle Automated Raman Trapping Analysis (SPARTA) technology, which allows for high-throughput characterization of single nanoparticles (Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 4256). We will demonstrate how the SPARTA technology can characterize the composition of extracellular vesicles and how this approach can be used in cancer diagnostics (ACS Nano, 2021, 15, 18192-18205).
(3) We will show how confocal Raman spectroscopy is used for In vivo biomolecular imaging of zebrafish embryos (an important model organism) to visualize complex biological processes such as wound responses (Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 6172).
(4) Last, we will show a comprehensive framework for higher-throughput molecular imaging via deep-learning-enabled Raman spectroscopy, which can be applied to Raman imaging in biomedical sciences. The framework consists of denoising (resulting in higher signal-to-noise spectra) and a neural network for robust spatial super-resolution of hyperspectral Raman images, which preserve molecular cellular information. This framework speeds up Raman imagining, enabling good-quality cellular imaging with a high resolution and a high signal-to-noise ratio at a reduced time cost (Anal. Chem. 2021, 93,15850-15860).
IMPERIAL College London
The Stevens Group, Royal School of Mines, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
Carl is currently occupying a position as a research associate in the Stevens Group (Prof. Molly Stevens) at Imperial College London. In the Stevens Group, Carl works as a data scientist and is responsible for algorithm development and data analysis workflows related to diagnostic systems based on Raman spectroscopy.
Carl holds an MSc in process analytical technology (PAT) and a PhD in chemometrics and vibrational spectroscopy from the University of Copenhagen. He has experience as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen, NOFIMA in Oslo, and the University of Amsterdam, where he worked on estimating sample-specific prediction uncertainties of various spectroscopic measurements.
The ultimate goal for biomedical vibrational spectroscopy is to integrate an effective technology into health services worldwide, improving current clinical practices and thus providing tangible benefits to patients each and every day. A wealth of promising proof-of-concept studies and revolutionary technical developments have allowed progression towards this end goal; however, as yet, there is still no single technology that has achieved this feat. This could be attributed to the multitude of hurdles along this pathway to translation including prototype development, clinical feasibility, regulatory approval, and of course, ever elusive funding.
Here we describe the development of an infrared spectroscopy-based blood test for the earlier detection of cancer. The Dxcover platform utilizes infrared spectroscopy and machine learning to detect early-stage tumors. The company has generated compelling clinical data from 3,000 patients across 8 cancers and is developing Organ Specific tests and Multi-Cancer Combination tests. The Dxcover Platform is advancing towards regulatory approvals and aims to be commercially available by 2024 following successful clinical studies. In this tale of translation, key milestones along the pathway towards commercialisation will be described, as well as the trials and tribulations associated with medical device development.
Dxcover Ltd
Suite RC534, Royal College Building, 204 George Street, Glasgow G1 1XW, UK
Holly Butler is a co-founder of Dxcover, a spin-out from the University of Strathclyde that has raised £5.1m in equity and grant funding since 2019.
Dxcover has developed a revolutionary Liquid Biopsy Platform with unrivalled ability to detect early-stage cancer from a small blood sample.
Holly obtained her PhD from Lancaster University in 2016, and has since been spearheading the developing the Dxcover Platform. In her current role as Head of Product Development, Holly oversees design control development of current and future clinical products, whilst also developing a new market for Dxcover’s infrared products.
CLICK to view abstract & bio
Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging biomedical imaging modality based on the use of laser-generated ultrasound. It is a hybrid technique that combines the high contrast and spectroscopic-based specificity of optical imaging with the high spatial resolution available to ultrasound. As a consequence, it overcomes the limited penetration depth/spatial resolution of purely optical imaging techniques such as light microscopy or diffuse optical tomography due to the overwhelming optical scattering exhibited by tissue. At the same time, it retains their high contrast and spectral specificity enabling visualisation of anatomical features indistinguishable with other modalities such as ultrasound imaging. Photoacoustic image contrast is dominated by optical absorption. This makes the technique particularly well suited to visualising vascular anatomy on account of the strong absorption of haemoglobin. As a consequence, photoacoustic imaging has potentially broad clinical application encompassing the assessment of breast and skin cancers, cardiovascular disease, and abnormalities of the microcirculation implicated in diabetes and skin conditions.
At UCL we have developed a novel photoacoustic imaging technology based an optical ultrasound sensor. Over the last two decades we have taken the technology from first principles at component level to engineering practical clinical imaging instruments. A number of first-in-human clinical studies are now currently underway to assess its suitability for assessing inflammatory arthritis, peripheral vascular disease, the diabetic foot and guiding liver cancer and plastic surgery. This talk will discuss the trials and tribulations of this journey and the broader outlook for the clinical translation of photoacoustic imaging.
University College London
Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, Malet Place, Engineering Building, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom
Paul Beard is Professor of Biomedical Photoacoustics at UCL.
He obtained a BSc in Physics at UCL. Following a period at Marconi Underwater Systems Ltd. he returned to UCL and obtained a PhD in Medical Physics.
He founded and currently leads the Photoacoustic Imaging Group within the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.
His research is directed towards the development of novel photoacoustic instrumentation based on interferometric acoustic sensing methods, modelling photoacoustic signals, image reconstruction algorithms, spectroscopic methods and the application of the technology in medicine and biology.
His research is funded by EPSRC, the Wellcome Trust, CRUK and he currently holds an ERC Advanced Grant to develop microresonator based photoacoustic scanners.
He recently co-founded the spin-out company DeepColor SAS to develop clinical photoacoustic imaging systems.
