In this section
We use light to develop advanced diagnostic tools, wearable sensors, and microscale robots for studying diseases and enabling minimally invasive treatments.
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.
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.
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).
Dr Belal Ahmad
Imperial College Research Fellow
Dr Qian Chen
Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Ahmed Ezzat
Research Postgraduate
Dr Nilanjan Mandal
Research Associate in Optical Sensing for LMICs
Dr Alexander J Thompson
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sensing
Mr Zeyu Wang
Research Postgraduate
@article{Lett:2021:10.1364/boe.424252,
author = {Lett, A and Lim, A and Skinner, C and Maurice, J and Vergis, N and Darzi, A and Goldin, R and Thursz, M and Thompson, A},
doi = {10.1364/boe.424252},
journal = {Biomedical Optics Express},
pages = {4249--4264},
title = {Rapid, non-invasive measurement of gastric emptying rate using transcutaneous fluorescence spectroscopy},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/boe.424252},
volume = {12},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Gastric emptying rate (GER) signifies the rate at which the stomach empties following ingestion of a meal and is relevant to a wide range of clinical conditions. GER also represents a rate limiting step in small intestinal absorption and so is widely assessed for research purposes. Despite the clinical and physiological importance of gastric emptying, methods used to measure GER possess a series of limitations (including being invasive, slow or unsuitable for certain patient populations). Here, we present a new technique based on transcutaneous (through-the-skin) fluorescence spectroscopy that is fast, non-invasive, and does not require the collection of samples or laboratory-based analysis. Thus, this approach has the potential to allow immediate reporting of clinical results. Using this new method, participants receive an oral dose of a fluorescent contrast agent and a wearable probe detects the uptake of the agent from the gut into the blood stream. Analysis of the resulting data then permits the calculation of GER. We compared our spectroscopic technique to the paracetamol absorption test (a clinically approved GER test) in a clinical study of 20 participants. Results demonstrated good agreement between the two approaches and, hence, the clear potential of transcutaneous fluorescence spectroscopy for clinical assessment of GER.
AU - Lett,A
AU - Lim,A
AU - Skinner,C
AU - Maurice,J
AU - Vergis,N
AU - Darzi,A
AU - Goldin,R
AU - Thursz,M
AU - Thompson,A
DO - 10.1364/boe.424252
EP - 4264
PY - 2021///
SN - 2156-7085
SP - 4249
TI - Rapid, non-invasive measurement of gastric emptying rate using transcutaneous fluorescence spectroscopy
T2 - Biomedical Optics Express
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/boe.424252
UR - https://www.osapublishing.org/boe/fulltext.cfm?uri=boe-12-7-4249&id=452609
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/90366
VL - 12
ER -
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