Focused High/Low Intensity Ultrasound System for Minimally Invasive Inside Body Bio Printing and Drug Delivery

尽管康科迪亚大学拥有各种最先进的研究设施，但由于迫切需要高度专业化的超声波光束转向和聚焦，我们实验室在体内生物打印、非侵入性细胞刺激和使用超声波的药物输送领域发起并获得专利的一些关键研究目前受到限制。这种设备将加强正在进行的研究，开发远程组织打印和非侵入性纳米颗粒合成和药物输送领域的尖端技术。支持的研究项目包括但不限于：1)微粒子和细胞操纵/刺激；2)选择性纳米粒子合成；3)微粒子和细胞流控制；4)原位/体外生物打印和药物输送。SonicConcept的相控阵高强度聚焦超声换能器使我们的研究小组能够对上述项目进行研究。拥有128个压电致动器，提供了广泛的超声波波束转向和聚焦能力。康科迪亚或已知的合作机构没有类似的设备。获得这一设备不仅将促进工程师、生物学家和物理学家之间的有效合作，以实现未来的融合，而且还将保持前沿研究成果，加强培训目标，提高论文质量，并缩短毕业时间。我们目前有25名研究生和5名博士后从事上述研究项目。他们已经掌握了理论，并进行了与超声波模式相关的多物理模拟。除了进行尖端研究外，该设备还使他们能够验证他们的建模和仿真。此外，我们相信，这8个实验室围绕这一设备在多学科研发方面的合作将带来具有巨大市场的实用产品，并可以从大学衍生出一些产品。围绕这一设备、声学、微/纳米电子机械系统和头颈部癌症治疗的研究实验室之间的合作，将体现在拟议的多学科研究计划中。这项重要研究是对我们在微系统、微流体、用于生物和化学应用的微纳米集成系统的应用以及癌症治疗和组织打印领域的工程师、物理学家和医生的补充。拟议的研究计划引入了生物打印的新趋势。然而，无法以电子方式控制超声场是一个重大挫折。所要求的设备通过允许高强度超声波的电子转向和聚焦来克服这一障碍。该系统设在光学-生物微系统实验室，将向加拿大各地的现场和其他机构间合作开放，包括McGill、UdeM、ETS和联邦理工学院。

Even though Concordia University houses various state-of-the-art research facilities, a number of crucial studies initiated and patented from our lab in the areas of inside body bio printing, noninvasive cell stimulation and drug delivery using ultrasound waves are currently limited due to the dire need for a highly specialized ultrasound beam steering and focusing. Such equipment would enhance ongoing research on developing cutting edge technologies in the area of remote tissue printing and noninvasive nano particle synthesis and drug delivery. The supported research programs includes but limited to: 1)Micro particle and cell manipulation/stimulation, 2) Selective nano particle synthesis, 3) Micro particle and cell streaming control and 4) In-situ/in-vitro bio printing and drug delivery. The Phased Array High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Transducer from Sonicconcepts enables our research group to conduct research on the mentioned programs. Having 128 piezo actuator provides a wide range of ultrasound beam steering and focusing capabilities. No similar equipment is available at Concordia or known partner institutions. Acquiring this equipment would not only advance effective collaboration between engineers, biologists and physicists for future convergence but would also sustain leading-edge research success, strengthen training goals, enhance quality of dissertations, and shorten graduation time. We currently have 25 graduate students and 5 postdocs working on the mentioned research programs. They have mastered the theory and conducted multiphysics simulations related to the ultrasound wave patterning. In addition to conducting cutting edge research, the equipment enables them to validate their modeling and simulations. In addition, we believe that the collaboration of these 8 labs in multidisciplinary research and development around this equipment will lead to practical products that has huge market and a few spin-off can be resulted from universities. The collaborations between research labs around this equipment with diverse expertise, acoustic, micro/nano elector mechanical systems and head and neck cancer treatment, will manifest themselves and converge in the proposed multidisciplinary research programs. This essential research is complementary to both our engineers, physicists and physicians working in the area of microsystems, microfluidics, application of micro-nano integrated systems for bio and chemical applications and cancer treatment and tissue printing. The proposed research programs introduces new trend in bioprinting. However, the incapability of controlling the ultrasonic field electronically is a major setback. The requested equipment surmounts this obstacle by permitting electronic steering and focusing of high intensity ultrasound. Housed in the Optical-bio Microsystems Lab, the system will be open to on-site and other inter-institutional collaborations across Canada including McGill, UdeM, ETS and École Polytechnique.