Novel accoustical and optical methods to probe the structure of biomaterials

科利奥斯博士实验室的工作重点是使用新的光和超声波技术来表征生物材料的结构和组成。他和他的团队特别感兴趣的是这些技术的应用，以监测癌症治疗过程中细胞和组织的变化。他工作的例子包括使用高频超声波监测细胞死亡，以及使用光声监测热疗治疗。在这项提议中，一种名为光学相干层析成像的基于光的技术将以光谱方式用于推断治疗过程中细胞结构的变化，并与目前正在进行的高频超声波工作进行比较。此外，一项基于超声波的技术-声传输成像-将被用于观察在超声波治疗期间发生的组织变化，在这种治疗中，使用高强度超声波消除病变组织。高强度超声波可以将组织加热到60摄氏度以上，或者足够短，从而在不产生显著热量的情况下导致机械组织破裂。我们将研究声学摄像机在监测这些治疗后组织特性变化方面的作用。这项工作最终将使人们更好地了解这些技术在临床上的优势和局限性。

The work in Dr. Kolios' laboratory focuses on using novel light and ultrasound technologies to characterize the structure and composition of biomaterials. Of particular interest to him and his group is the application of these technologies to monitor the changes in cells and tissues during cancer therapies. Examples of his work include the use of high frequency ultrasound to monitor cell death and the use of photoacoustics to monitor thermal therapy treatments. In this proposal, one light-based technology, called optical coherence tomography, will be used in a spectroscopic manner to infer changes in the structure of cells during treatment, and compared to the high frequency ultrasound work that is currently underway. Moreover, one ultrasound based technology, acoustic transmission imaging, will be used to look at changes in tissue that occur during ultrasound therapies, in which pathological tissues are eliminated using high intensity ultrasound. The high intensity ultrasound can either heat the tissues to over 60C, or be short enough to causing mechanical tissue disruption without the production of significant heat. We will investigate the utility of the acoustic camera to monitor changes in tissue properties from these treatments. This work will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the strengths and limitations with regards to the clinical use of these technologies.