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{Wei:2022:2050-6120/ac9513,
author = {Wei, J and Monfort, Sanchez E and Avery, J and Barbouti, O and Hoare, J and Ashrafian, H and Darzi, A and Thompson, A},
doi = {2050-6120/ac9513},
journal = {Methods and Applications in Fluorescence},
pages = {1--9},
title = {Non-invasive assessment of intestinal permeability in healthy volunteers using transcutaneous fluorescence spectroscopy},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2050-6120/ac9513},
volume = {10},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - The permeability of the intestinal barrier is altered in a multitude of gastrointestinal conditions such as Crohn's and coeliac disease. However, the clinical utility of gut permeability is currently limited due to a lack of reliable diagnostic tests. To address this issue, we report a novel technique for rapid, non-invasive measurement of gut permeability based on transcutaneous ('through-the-skin') fluorescence spectroscopy. In this approach, participants drink an oral dose of a fluorescent dye (fluorescein) and a fibre-optic fluorescence spectrometer is attached to the finger to detect permeation of the dye from the gut into the blood stream in a non-invasive manner. To validate this technique, clinical trial measurements were performed in 11 healthy participants. First, after 6 h of fasting, participants ingested 500 mg of fluorescein dissolved in 100 ml of water and fluorescence measurements were recorded at the fingertip over the following 3 h. All participants were invited back for a repeat study, this time ingesting the same solution but with 60 g of sugar added (known to transiently increase intestinal permeability). Results from the two study datasets (without and with sugar respectively) were analysed and compared using a number of analysis procedures. This included both manual and automated calculation of a series of parameters designed for assessment of gut permeability. Calculated values were compared using Student's T-tests, which demonstrated significant differences between the two datasets. Thus, transcutaneous fluorescence spectroscopy shows promise in non-invasively discriminating between two differing states of gut permeability, demonstrating potential for future clinical use.
AU - Wei,J
AU - Monfort,Sanchez E
AU - Avery,J
AU - Barbouti,O
AU - Hoare,J
AU - Ashrafian,H
AU - Darzi,A
AU - Thompson,A
DO - 2050-6120/ac9513
EP - 9
PY - 2022///
SN - 2050-6120
SP - 1
TI - Non-invasive assessment of intestinal permeability in healthy volunteers using transcutaneous fluorescence spectroscopy
T2 - Methods and Applications in Fluorescence
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2050-6120/ac9513
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2050-6120/ac9513/meta
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/104611
VL - 10
ER -
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