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

尽管康考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束引导和聚焦，我们实验室在体内生物打印、非侵入性细胞刺激和利用超声波给药等领域发起并获得专利的一些重要研究目前受到限制。这种设备将加强正在进行的研究，以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限于：1)微颗粒和细胞操作/刺激，2)选择性纳米颗粒合成，3)微颗粒和细胞流控制，4)原位/体外生物打印和药物传递。来自Sonicconcepts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程序进行研究。拥有128压电致动器提供了广泛的超声光束转向和聚焦能力。在康科迪亚或已知的合作机构没有类似的设备。获得这些设备不仅可以促进工程师、生物学家和物理学家之间为未来的融合而进行有效的合作，还可以保持前沿研究的成功，加强培训目标，提高论文质量，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，并进行了与超声波图形相关的多物理场模拟。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模拟。此外，我们相信这8个实验室围绕该设备进行多学科研究和开发的合作将会产生具有巨大市场的实用产品，并且可以从大学中产生一些衍生产品。在声学、微/纳米电机机械系统和头颈部癌症治疗等不同专业知识的设备研究实验室之间的合作将在拟议的多学科研究项目中得到体现和融合。这项重要的研究对我们的工程师、物理学家和医生在微系统、微流体、应用于生物和化学应用的微纳集成系统、癌症治疗和组织打印领域的工作是互补的。提出的研究计划介绍了生物打印的新趋势。然而，不能电子控制超声场是一个主要的挫折。所要求的设备通过允许电子转向和高强度超声聚焦来克服这一障碍。该系统位于光学生物微系统实验室，将向现场和加拿大各地的其他机构间合作开放，包括麦吉尔大学、UdeM、ETS和École Polytechnique。

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.