Towards development of eye-safe multiplex resonance raman device for point-of-care neurodiagnostics

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Aiming at improving trauma triaging and point-of-care and emergency medicine, this project will focus on exploring and validating the Raman-based detection of TBI-indicative biochemical changes from biofluids, brain tissue cultures and in poartcilarly, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), collected immediately after TBI. Since the optic nerve is visible at the back-of-the-eye, as a projection of brain tissue and bathed in CSF, it provides an optically clear window into the brain. Therefore, the crucial knowledge acquired during this project, will lay the platform towards development of a novel eye-safe Raman imaging technique to examine the optic nerve and screen for neurological biomarkers as well as allow monitoring drug-delivery, towards developments of new pharmaceutical interventions. This project will enable crucial development steps towards the long-term approach required to address this urgent clinical need, developing a new generation of PoC technology capable of playing a direct role in TBI detection. The implications of having a rapid, non-invasive, quantitative test for TBI would be particularly useful in settings where rapid decisions have to be made regarding whether or not a patient is safe to return to full activity e.g., contact sports or after exposure to blast injury on the battlefield. Engineering novel device and testing it for detection of TBI-indicative markers from biofluids and tissues as well as for monitoring medical interventions and drug delivery post TBI (through rapid, reliable, non-invasive and safe methods of detecting and quantifying TBI), the project will deliver medical tools for better treatment decisions and improved outcomes subsequent to TBI for greater quality of life and ultimately, improved survival. The idea of using laser spectroscopic techniques to non-invasively detect, quantify and monitor treatment of TBI is highly novel and thus, it is likely that this project will break new ground in fields of diagnostic laser applications, advanced optical set-ups, brain-injury and neuro-rehabilitation. The Raman device could find a wide range of related applications in future e.g., in exploring drug interactions within the eye, either in new medicine development or as part of a treatment.