Project description
Advancing ultrasound for cancer diagnosis
Ultrasound is an imaging method that employs sound waves to visualise organs and tissues within the body. Despite its safety, technical limitations so far have prohibited its widespread application in clinical oncology. The EU-funded MIC project will capitalise on recent technology breakthroughs to develop a 3D ultrasound microscopy method. The idea is to use contrasting agents that allow the visualisation of the vascular networks in cancer and the detection of metastatic lymph nodes. Results will help advance the ultrasound-based detection of metabolic and structural changes in cancer, offering a non-invasive tool to oncologists.
Objective
Cancer remains the second leading cause of death worldwide (World Health Organization), involving various pathological processes across multiple biological scales . Ultrasound is increasingly used in clinical oncological practice for patient diagnosis, therapy guidance, and monitoring, however do not allow for imaging of the metabolic and vascular onset of cancer at the microscale . Here, I aim to develop multi-messenger ultrasound imaging for the early metabolic and vascular detection of cancer in a pre-clinical model and a pilot human head and neck oncology study. This interdisciplinary proposal will build on three recent breakthroughs in ultrasound and synthetic biology: (1) 4D ultrasound imaging at the millisecond timescale, (2) ultrasound super-resolution imaging at the microvascular scale and (3) biomolecular ultrasound imaging at the cellular scale.I will develop non-linear sound sheet imaging (NSSI) for the 3D imaging of ultrasound contrast agents regardless of their motion. Combined with localization algorithms, this method will enable 3D ultrasound microscopy (SSLM) of capillary networks perfused with clinically approved contrast agents. Using this vascular message we will characterize rat brain tumors in preclinical research. We will also evaluate the potential of the ultrasound microscopy technique to detect metastatic sentinel lymph nodes in a pilot human study. Furthermore, NSSI will be capable of imaging GVs that are small enough to extravasate the leaky vasculature of tumors. In this specific aim, I will rely on genetically engineered pH-sensing GVs developed in my host laboratory (NWO Start-up Grant STU.019.021 of the Dutch Research Council). Using this metabolic message we will detect hypoxia induced acidosis, an important biomarker of cancer. The non-invasive observation of structural and metabolic messages arising from tumors with sound, named multi-messenger ultrasound imaging of cancer (MIC), will significantly advance the potential of medica
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences synthetic biology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences physical sciences acoustics ultrasound
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2628 CN DELFT
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.