research
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About the project:
Funded by a recent Transformative Healthcare 2050 award from the EPSRC an interdisciplinary team of Southampton based scientists and researchers are developing new fibre lasers and novel methodologies that will allow early detection, imaging and treatment deep inside tissues up to several millimetres and ultimately up to several centimetres. The imaging process is aimed to be completely non-invasive and non-destructive, whilst providing near instant results. The simplicity and morpho-chemical nature of the imaging without the use of labels means it can be applied to a host of medical areas to deliver diagnostic/prognostic capabilities in an accessible manner. While the initial target is diagnosis of musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis from outside the body, imaging across the skull into the brain to detect early onset of neurodegenerative diseases may also be possible.
The project is part of a larger cross-institutional team effort wherein new detectors and novel computational methods will be contributed by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Nottingham, respectively. The overall team consists of chemists, biologists, physicists, computer scientists, laser, electronics and biomedical engineers as well as clinicians in a truly collaborative effort to transform the practice of disease diagnosis and treatment at both the community and specialist healthcare level.
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