Smart Electro-Optical Techniques for Bowel Cancer Surgery

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This research will look to develop a novel electrical impedance technology with a focus on diagnosis and treatment of bowel cancer. Over 42,000 people are diagnosed and more than 16,000 die from bowel cancer every year in the UK, making it the country's second leading cause of death among cancers [1]. Screening programmes have demonstrated significant success in reducing patient mortality through early diagnosis [2][3], but that success is dependent on the quality of the diagnostic techniques available [4]. Incorporating further quantitative components into these diagnostic processes will improve their reliability and help reduce the number of missed cases. Mortality rates 30-days following surgical intervention stand at around 6% [5], and so there also remains scope for improving treatment and post-operative outcomes. Surgery remains the most common treatment method for colo-rectal cancers [6], and so a tool capable of providing surgeons with information about tissue properties in real time will aid in the removal of (pre)cancerous growths without disturbing other unaffected tissues and avoid associated complications. This project proposes the development of an advanced bio-imaging technique that provides this invaluable quantitative assessment. The research aims to establish a technique that will guide cancer identification and removal surgery in real time, through data analysis, and the design, fabrication, and testing of sensors and signal processing systems. This cutting-edge electro-optical imaging technology will be tested in In-vivo and ex-vivo models, and validated using advanced chemical imaging techniques.