Optical theragnostics: developing dedicated instruments to concurrently see and treat lesions

光学治疗诊断学：开发专用仪器来同时观察和治疗病变

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-06151
• 负责人: Boudoux, Caroline
• 金额: $ 2.84万
• 依托单位: École Polytechnique de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=754585
• 关键词: Optical; theragnostics; developing; dedicated; instruments

The past decades have witnessed a rapid evolution of optical technologies applied to medical imaging and laser surgery. This proposal brings together the fields of biophotonics, lasers and fiber optics towards the development of new devices enabling the integration of imaging and therapy within a single fiber optics probe for simultaneous diagnosis and treatment of cancers: a field called theragnostics. Since its first occurrence in the scientific literature, the imaging modality called optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become the standard of diagnosis for ophthalmic diseases and is finding many new applications in health sciences such as the detection of cardiovascular and precancerous lesions. The rapidly growing interest in OCT stems from its unique ability to visualize tissues non-invasively with a resolution of 10 microns and at depths of up to 3mm, which translates into the potential of skipping the biopsy stage for on-the-spot diagnosis. The core technologies behind OCT (i.e. lasers and fiber optics) allow bridging the current gap existing between diagnosis and treatment. Using my laboratory's combined expertise of laser--tissue interactions, fiber optics, fiber laser design, and optical image processing, I propose to set the cornerstone towards single fiber OCT-monitored laser tissue coagulation and ablation. In other words, I propose to develop a see-and-treat tool based on novel fiber optics and lasers.Laser delivery to inner organs is limited by the type of optics being used. For coherent imaging, such as OCT, single mode fibers are used, while for therapy, multimode fibers are required to support high power densities. I plan to leverage from the technology my laboratory developed, the double clad fiber (DCF) coupler, to create the perfect instrument for concurrent OCT imaging, through the core of the DCF, and laser therapy, through the surrounding inner cladding of the same DCF. In addition to creating the instrument, image-processing tools will be refined to automate the laser therapy process. As energy is converted to heat at the nanosecond regime (or faster), I will use properties of OCT images known as speckle to automatically dictate when treatment should stop, thus avoiding key anatomical structures faster than the eye can see.This program has the potential to train several engineering students in a multidisciplinary environment, and to introduce them to the translation of the techniques to the clinical suite and to industrial partners. My trainees evolve in a gender-balanced, multi-cultural environment. They rapidly become citizen of the international community of biomedical optics scientists through publications in top-tier journals, participation to international conferences and collaborations. As a group, we focus on improving the well-being of Canadians though technology transfer to industry and the development of innovative theragnostic techniques.

过去几十年见证了光学技术在医学成像和激光手术中的快速发展。该提案将生物光子学、激光和光纤领域结合起来，开发新的设备，使成像和治疗在单个光纤探针内集成，同时诊断和治疗癌症：一个被称为治疗学的领域。自首次在科学文献中出现以来，光学相干断层扫描（OCT）的成像方式已成为眼科疾病的诊断标准，并在健康科学中得到了许多新的应用，如心血管和癌前病变的检测。对OCT快速增长的兴趣源于其独特的无创组织可视化能力，分辨率为10微米，深度可达3毫米，这意味着有可能跳过活检阶段进行现场诊断。OCT背后的核心技术（即激光和光纤）可以弥合目前存在于诊断和治疗之间的差距。利用我的实验室在激光-组织相互作用、光纤、光纤激光设计和光学图像处理方面的综合专业知识，我建议为单光纤oct监测激光组织凝固和消融奠定基础。换句话说，我建议开发一种基于新型光纤和激光器的“看即治疗”工具。激光传输到内部器官受到所使用的光学类型的限制。对于相干成像，如OCT，使用单模光纤，而对于治疗，需要多模光纤来支持高功率密度。我计划利用我的实验室开发的技术，双包层光纤（DCF）耦合器，通过DCF的核心和激光治疗，通过同一DCF的周围内包层，创建一个完美的同步OCT成像仪器。除了创建仪器之外，图像处理工具将被改进以使激光治疗过程自动化。当能量以纳秒级（或更快）的速度转化为热量时，我将使用被称为斑点的OCT图像的特性来自动指示何时应该停止治疗，从而避免比眼睛能看到的更快的关键解剖结构。这个项目有潜力在多学科环境中培养几名工程专业的学生，并向他们介绍将这些技术转化为临床套件和工业合作伙伴。我的学员在一个性别平衡、多元文化的环境中成长。通过在顶级期刊上发表论文、参加国际会议和合作，他们迅速成为国际生物医学光学科学家社区的一员。作为一个团体，我们专注于通过技术转移到工业和创新的诊断技术的发展，提高加拿大人的福祉。