Biothermal imaging facility

该提案要求资金建立一个生物热成像设施。该设施将提供从厘米级到微米级物体的表面温度图像的能力，范围从-40摄氏度到500摄氏度，分辨率为18微米。它将支持参与两个基于热疗的研究项目的三名科学家。另一个项目研究使用超声波传输成像来监测热疗过程中组织的破坏。另一个项目是研究金纳米颗粒与特定类型癌细胞的生物分子的结合使用。这两个项目是互补的，一个是研究一种新形式的靶向热疗，另一个是研究一种在治疗过程中实时监控热疗进展的新形式。建议中的设施将使这两个项目都受益匪浅，并将为学生提供红外热像技术，以便在加拿大培养出高素质的毕业生。

The proposal requests funds to set up a biothermal imaging facility.  The facility will provide the capability of getting images of the surface temperatures from objects from the centimetre scale to the micrometer scale, which span a range of -40 Celsius to 500 Celsius, and at a resolution of 18 micrometres.  It will support three scientists involved in two thermal therapy based research programs.  One program investigates the use of ultrasound transmission imaging to monitor the destruction of tissue during thermal therapy.  The other program is investigating the use of gold nanoparticles conjugated to biomolecules that target specific types of cancer cells, resulting in an uptake of the nanoparticles in tumour regions.  The particles can then be activated using infrared light to heat and destroy only the tumour regions.  The two programs are complimentary in the sense that one is investigating a novel form of targeted thermal therapy, while the other is investigating a novel form of monitoring the progress of thermal therapies, in real-time during treatment.  The proposed facility will greatly benefit both these programs and will provide infrared thermography skills to students to produce highly qualified graduates in Canada.