In this section

Clinical Photonics

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 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

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Phiri:2024:10.12688/f1000research.154471.1,
author = {Phiri, T and Weatherill, J and Monford-Sanchez, E and Serrano-Contreras, J-I and Melvin, C and Kunaka, M and Chisenga, I and Ngalande, P and Mweetwa, M and Besa, E and Haider, T and Mandal, N and Thompson, A and Edwards, C and Burke, C and Robertson, R and Posma, J and Banda, R and Mwiinga, M and Kazhila, L and Katsidzira, L and Bwakura-Dangarembizi, M and Amadi, B and Garcia-Perez, I and Maitland, K and Marchesi, J and Morrison, D and Frost, G and Kelly, P},
doi = {10.12688/f1000research.154471.1},
journal = {F1000Research},
title = {Novel gastrointestinal tools (GI Tools) for evaluating gut functional capacity in adults with environmental enteropathy in Zambia and Zimbabwe: A cross-sectional study protocol [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.154471.1},
volume = {13},
year = {2024}
}

Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Environmental enteropathy (EE) is a highly prevalent subclinical inflammatory intestinal disorder associated with growth failure, impaired neurocognitive development, poor response to oral vaccines, and micronutrient deficiencies. However, EE research and clinical trials are hampered by the lack of non-invasive tools for measuring intestinal function in detail. This study aims to develop new tools for the measurement of multiple domains of gut functional capacity. Methods The GI TOOLS project is a cross-sectional study that will recruit adults aged 18-65 years with EE in Lusaka, Zambia. Each participant will undergo assessment of gut functional capacity using novel near-point-of-care tools and provide multiple samples for detailed laboratory analyses. Participants will also undergo endoscopy for collection of duodenal biopsies. Novel techniques include stable isotopes approaches to measuring digestion, absorption, and bidirectional transmucosal amino acid flux, a non-invasive fluorescence tool for real-time evaluation of gut permeability, and assessment of reverse permeation of intravenous antibiotics to be carried out separately in Zimbabwe. Stool and duodenal microbiome sequencing using MinION sequencing, metabolome analysis applied to plasma and intestinal fluids, blood immune cell phenotyping, in vitro epithelial barrier models, and duodenal immunohistochemistry will also be used to explore EE in depth. These will all be integrated with gold standard histology and mucosal morphometry, alongside lactulose permeation data, and stool and plasma biomarker analysis. The protocol has been approved by ethics committees and regulators in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the UK. Participants will give informed consent before they can participate Anticipated outcomes Based on this extensive phenotyping, tests will be developed which can be simplified and refined for use in adults and children with EE, and for clinical trials. Findings from this project will be disseminated through i
AU  - Phiri,T
AU  - Weatherill,J
AU  - Monford-Sanchez,E
AU  - Serrano-Contreras,J-I
AU  - Melvin,C
AU  - Kunaka,M
AU  - Chisenga,I
AU  - Ngalande,P
AU  - Mweetwa,M
AU  - Besa,E
AU  - Haider,T
AU  - Mandal,N
AU  - Thompson,A
AU  - Edwards,C
AU  - Burke,C
AU  - Robertson,R
AU  - Posma,J
AU  - Banda,R
AU  - Mwiinga,M
AU  - Kazhila,L
AU  - Katsidzira,L
AU  - Bwakura-Dangarembizi,M
AU  - Amadi,B
AU  - Garcia-Perez,I
AU  - Maitland,K
AU  - Marchesi,J
AU  - Morrison,D
AU  - Frost,G
AU  - Kelly,P
DO  - 10.12688/f1000research.154471.1
PY  - 2024///
SN  - 2046-1402
TI  - Novel gastrointestinal tools (GI Tools) for evaluating gut functional capacity in adults with environmental enteropathy in Zambia and Zimbabwe: A cross-sectional study protocol [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]
T2  - F1000Research
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.154471.1
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/114340
VL  - 13
ER  -