Spectroscopy of laser-induced plasmas: an interdisciplinary research program for the 21st Century

21世纪医学的特点是越来越频繁地使用高科技来缩短准确诊断疾病、病理或创伤以及治疗医疗状况所需的时间。例如，能够进行高分辨率成像的更快的MRI和CT机器，以及用于在心脏病发作期间快速清晰阻塞动脉的基于光纤的内窥镜激光血管成形术。特别是激光和其他光基（光学）技术的使用极大地促进了这些测试和程序的简单性和速度。使用脉冲激光系统来治疗皮肤疾病，如胎记或黑色素瘤，以及在牙科检查中使用明亮的蓝色灯来快速筛查口腔癌，这些都是光学技术创新应用的好例子。****在我们的研究计划中，我们正试图了解如何使用基于光的激光系统来快速识别致病菌。这些细菌可以从临床标本（血液或尿液）中获得，以立即确定引起感染的感染原。目前还不存在这样的测试，结果病人经常被不正确地治疗，被开了广谱抗生素，这导致了抗生素或多重耐药细菌的进化。此外，这种误诊通常会导致更长时间和更昂贵的医疗干预，往往会带来更糟糕的结果。或者，同样的基于激光的技术可以用于表面，以确定它们是否已被适当清洁/消毒；它有可能被用于食品样品，以筛查最常见的食源性病原体，这些病原体每年使全世界数百万人生病，甚至可能致命。****即使没有直接受到食物中毒或误诊/误用感染的影响，所有加拿大人都以不断增加的国家医疗费用的形式承担这一负担。有趣的是，完全相同的激光技术可以通过快速无痛地分析指甲来筛选大量营养缺乏症患者。我们一直在探索快速识别膳食锌缺乏症的能力，这实际上是全球幼儿死亡的主要原因，尤其是在发展中国家。****我们的研究计划正试图汇集物理学、光学、细胞生物学和工程学方面的专业知识，最终为这些全球健康问题开发一种商业的加拿大解决方案。******

21st Century medicine has been characterized by the increasingly frequent use of high-technology to decrease the time it takes to make accurate diagnoses of disease, pathology, or trauma and to treat medical conditions. Examples include faster MRI and CT machines capable of high-resolution imaging and fiber-optic based endoscopic laser angioplasty for rapidly clearly blocked arteries during heart attacks. In particular, the use of lasers and other light-based (optical) techniques has greatly contributed to the simplicity and speed of these tests and procedures. The use of pulsed laser systems to treat dermatological conditions like birthmarks or melanoma and the use of bright blue lamps during dental checkups to quickly screen for oral cancers are great examples of the innovative use of optical technology.****In our program of study, we are attempting to understand how light-based laser systems can be used to rapidly identify pathogenic bacteria. These bacteria could be obtained from a clinical specimen (of blood or urine) to immediately and positively identify the infectious agent responsible for an infection. Such a test does not currently exist, and as a result sick people are frequently treated incorrectly by being prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics, which has led to the evolution of antibiotic- or multiply-drug resistant bacteria. Also, such misdiagnoses usually lead to longer and more expensive medical interventions, often with worse outcomes. Alternately the same laser-based technology could be used on surfaces, to determine if they have been properly cleaned/sterilized; it could potentially be used on samples of food to screen for the most common food-borne pathogens which make millions of people world wide sick every year and can even be fatal.****Even if not directly impacted by food-poisoning or misdiagnosed/mistreated infections, all Canadians carry this burden in the form of ever-increasing national medical costs. Interestingly, the exact same laser-technology could potentially be utilized to screen large populations of people for nutritional deficiencies by quickly and painlessly analyzing the fingernail. We have been exploring the ability to rapidly identify dietary zinc deficiency, which actually is a leading cause of death among toddlers worldwide, particularly in the developing world.****Our research program is attempting to bring together the expertise in physics, optics, cellular biology, and engineering to eventually develop a commercial Canadian solution to these global health issues.******