High frequency ultrasound transducers for characterisation of the tumour microenvironment

实体瘤通常具有高度的结缔组织增生，其特征是基质成分过多，如胶原蛋白，其作用是使癌症变硬。与周围正常组织相比，肿瘤硬度的增加已经被用于肿瘤检测，很可能已经有几千年的历史了，但现在人们相信肿瘤的生物力学特性可以帮助我们了解肿瘤对治疗的反应。有证据表明，较硬的肿瘤更容易扩散，而且它们更有可能血液供应不足，导致对治疗产生耐药性。癌症研究需要临床前肿瘤模型来帮助理解驱动癌症并影响其对治疗反应的生物、物理、免疫和遗传机制。癌症研究所（ICR）的研究人员一直在使用超声波来测量肿瘤模型的生物力学特性，以帮助了解它们是如何影响治疗效果的。为了将生物力学特性与肿瘤微环境的基质成分联系起来，这些特性需要以非常精细的空间细节进行测量（理想的空间分辨率小于100微米）。限制超声空间分辨率的主要因素之一是超声波束宽度。成功的FUSE博士研究生将与ICR合作，开发新的方法来产生高度聚焦的高频超声光束，用于探测肿瘤微环境。学生将开发新的传感器技术/硬件，并将其应用于组织刚度的测量。有机会在伦敦的ICR进行测量。

Solid tumours are often highly desmoplastic, characterised by excessive stromal components, such as collagen, which act to stiffen cancer. The increased stiffness of tumours compared to surrounding normal tissues has been exploited for tumour detection, most likely for millennia, but it is now believed that the biomechanical properties of tumours can help us understand how a tumour may respond to treatment. There is evidence to show that stiffer tumours are more likely to spread and that they are more likely to have a poor blood supply leading to treatment resistance. Preclinical tumour models are required in cancer research to help understand the biological, physical, immunological and genetic mechanisms that drive cancer and influence its response to treatment. Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), have been using ultrasound to measure the biomechanical properties of tumour models to help understand how they affect the efficacy of treatments. To link the biomechanical properties with the stromal components of the tumour microenvironment, these properties need to be measured with very fine spatial detail (ideally with spatial resolution of less than 100 microns). One of the principal factors that limits ultrasound spatial resolution is the ultrasound beam width.The successful FUSE PhD student will work in collaboration with the ICR, to develop novel methods to produce highly focused high frequency ultrasound beams that can used to probe the tumour microenvironment. The student will develop new transducer technology/hardware, and apply it to the measurement of tissue stiffness. There is opportunity to spend time in London performing measurements at the ICR.