We use light to develop advanced diagnostic tools, wearable sensors, and microscale robots for studying diseases and enabling minimally invasive treatments.

Head of Group

Dr Alex Thompson

Office B411, Bessemer Building,
South Kensington Campus

⇒ X @_Thompson_Alex

 

 

What we do

We use photonics to develop new technologies for medicine and to study the pathophysiology of disease. This includes new and improved diagnostic tools as well as microscale robotic devices for therapeutic applications. We use a variety of optical techniques for this purpose such as fluorescence, Raman and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, as well as microscopy and interferometry. We develop devices ranging from wearable sensors and fibre-optic probes for minimally invasive diagnostics through to microscale robots for cellular-scale manipulation and therapy.

Why it is important?

Our research has a number of potential clinical applications including improved monitoring of clinical therapies and interventions (e.g. in inflammatory bowel disease and malnutrition), early diagnosis of infection, and even margin mapping in tumour resection surgery.

How can it benefit patients?

The devices we are developing can potentially provide less invasive and lower cost diagnostics. In turn, this may facilitate patient benefits including earlier diagnosis, earlier identification of relapse (e.g. in therapy response monitoring applications), more widespread deployment and more comfortable patient experiences (e.g. through use of less invasive probes and sensors).

Meet the team

Dr Nilanjan Mandal

Dr Nilanjan Mandal
Research Associate in Optical Sensing for LMICs

Mr Zeyu Wang

Mr Zeyu Wang
Research Postgraduate

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Skinner:2020:10.1177/1756284820942616,
author = {Skinner, C and Thompson, AJ and Thursz, MR and Marchesi, JR and Vergis, N},
doi = {10.1177/1756284820942616},
journal = {Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology},
pages = {1--16},
title = {Intestinal permeability and bacterial translocation in patients with liver disease, focusing on alcoholic aetiology: methods of assessment and therapeutic intervention},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1756284820942616},
volume = {13},
year = {2020}
}

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB - Increased bacterial translocation (BT) across the gut barrier due to greater intestinal permeability (IP) is seen across a range of conditions, including alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD). The phenomenon of BT may contribute to both the pathogenesis and the development of complications in ArLD. There are a number of methods available to assess IP and in this review we look at their various advantages and limitations. The knowledge around BT and IP in ArLD is also reviewed, as well as the therapeutic strategies currently in use and in development.
AU - Skinner,C
AU - Thompson,AJ
AU - Thursz,MR
AU - Marchesi,JR
AU - Vergis,N
DO - 10.1177/1756284820942616
EP - 16
PY - 2020///
SN - 1756-2848
SP - 1
TI - Intestinal permeability and bacterial translocation in patients with liver disease, focusing on alcoholic aetiology: methods of assessment and therapeutic intervention
T2 - Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1756284820942616
UR - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000581485400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1756284820942616
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/88126
VL - 13
ER -

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The Hamlyn Centre
Bessemer Building
South Kensington Campus
Imperial College
London, SW7 2AZ
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