Development of Advanced Instrumentaion for Body Composition Analysis

人体成分分析x射线实验室在麦克马斯特大学有了一个新的位置和一个新装修的空间。实验室的任务以及我本人和我的HQP小组开展的工作旨在在解决卫生部门明确问题的应用中使用电磁辐射。我们的主要任务是设计、开发、测试和优化可用于帮助解决实际患者和医疗保健提供者遇到的问题的仪器。该实验室目前有三台x射线分析系统。其中两个系统是我和在我的监督下工作的团队在过去的5年里设计的，这是我在上一次NSERC发现申请中提出的。在过去的两年中，我们还开发了光学光谱仪器，并获得了成功的CFI奖。在未来五年内，这些实验室系统将进一步发展，并用于解决外科肿瘤学中的边缘检测问题，重点是乳腺癌，但也会应用于其他重要器官，如脑和肺。这种手术切缘检测系统将极大地造福于患者和外科医生，我们与圣约瑟夫医院和汉密尔顿Juravinski癌症中心的社区临床合作伙伴密切合作。市售的手持式便携式x射线分析设备已用于评估皮肤中的铁浓度，作为全身铁负荷的标记。我目前正在开发一种类似的仪器，使用放射性核素源，以以前的工作为基础。其目的是开发和使用一种便携式设备来测量因铁超载或缺铁导致的患者皮肤中的铁浓度。我的一位HQP最近发表的作品清楚地表明，在动物研究中，皮肤铁水平与关键器官铁水平之间存在相关性。一名学生最近完成的进一步研究表明，人类皮肤和肝脏铁水平之间存在很强的相关性。这项工作是与麦克马斯特大学健康科学学院的同事合作进行的，他们看到了能够在临床中通过快速非侵入性测量来评估铁水平的巨大好处。我的团队还将在身体成分评估方面进行进一步的基础研究。我们将继续使用高强度、高空间分辨率的同步加速器光源。我目前正在与德克萨斯大学和哈佛医学院合作，研究前列腺癌中金属的水平和分布，以及使用磁共振成像检测前列腺癌的相关应用。国家科学研究所的这一持续工作将侧重于开发对人类健康具有巨大价值的尖端技术和实验工作，并培训将经历公平、多样化和包容环境的下一代加拿大科学家。

The X-ray Laboratory for Body Composition Analysis, has a new location and a newly refurbished space at McMaster University. The mission of the laboratory and the work carried out by myself and my HQP team is aimed at using electromagnetic radiation in applications that address well defined problems in the health sector. Our primary task is to design, develop, test and optimize instrumentation that can be used to help solve problems real patients and health care providers are experiencing. The laboratory presently contains three X-Ray analysis systems. Two of these systems were designed by myself and the team working under my supervision over the past 5 years as proposed in my last NSERC discovery application. Over the last two years we have also developed optical spectroscopy instrumentation funded by a successful CFI award. Over the period of the next five years, these laboratory systems will be further developed and used to solve the problem of margin detection in surgical oncology, focusing on breast cancer but with applications for other important organs e.g. brain and lung. This surgical margin detection system will be of great benefit to patients and surgeons and we work very closely with our community clinical partners at St. Josephs Hospital and the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton. A commercially available handheld portable X-Ray analysis device has been used to assess iron concentrations in skin as a marker for total body iron burden. I am currently working on developing a similar instrument using a radionuclide source based on this previous work. The aim is to develop and use a portable device to measure the iron concentrations in the skin of patients suffering from conditions resulting from iron overload or iron deficiency. Recent published work by one of my HQP has clearly shown a correlation between skin iron levels and critical organ levels in animal studies. Further work recently completed by a student has shown a strong correlation between skin and liver iron levels in humans. This work is a collaboration with colleagues in the Health Sciences at McMaster, who see the huge benefit of being able to assess iron levels with a quick non-invasive measurement in the clinic. My team will also carry out further fundamental research in the assessment of body composition. We will continue work using high intensity, high spatial resolution synchrotron light sources. I am currently working in a collaboration with the University of Texas and Harvard Medical School to examine the levels and distribution of metals in prostate cancer and the associated applications this can have with prostate cancer detection using magnetic resonance imaging. This continuing NSE work will focus on developing cutting edge technologies and experimental work that will have immense value to human health and train the next generation of Canadian scientists that will have experienced an environment of equity, diversity and inclusion.