Project description
Innovative controlled laser ablation of tumours
A minimally invasive alternative to traditional cancer surgery creates the global market of thermal ablation devices for treating such organs as the brain, prostate, breast, pancreas, or lung, especially in cases of inoperable tumours. Laser ablation (LA) was successfully used in cases with access difficult for conventional surgery. The previous study has developed an innovative platform that integrates a closed-loop control strategy of LA with fibre optic sensors and modulates the laser power according to the tissue temperature. The EU-funded LEILA project aims to integrate this platform with a smart applicator for laser delivery and temperature monitoring. The project will perform a technical-commercial feasibility study to move the novel system to the market.
Objective
The need of a minimally invasive alternative to traditional cancer surgery is pushing the global market of thermal ablation devices, mainly for treating delicate organs (brain, prostate, breast, pancreas, lung) in inoperable patients. With its fine and flexible applicator, laser ablation (LA) was successfully used in lesions difficult to access with conventional surgery, and its market is expected to show the highest growth rates in the next 5 years. However, crucial aspects and clinical needs are still unsolved for LA: the poor reproducibility of the procedure outcome and the lack of mini-invasive and accurate intraprocedural control make LA strongly relying on the doctor experience. The lack of control causes subtotal tumor coverage, thus bringing cancer progression and recurrence. To solve this issue, in the ERC LASER OPTIMAL project that I lead, it was developed the first platform which integrates a closed-loop control strategy of LA with multiplexed fiber optic sensors (FOSs) at the millimetric-scale, and modulates the laser power based on the measured tissue temperature. LEILA is the integration of this control platform with a novel smart applicator embedding the laser delivery and the temperature monitoring with FOSs. In this PoC proposal, the technical-commercial feasibility study will be performed to move the LEILA system to the market. The PoC will allow prototyping the system, establishing contact with stakeholders for testing and integration of LEILA in existing medical systems, and preparing a ready-to-use tool. The PoC will also set the market and health technology assessment, the business model, and the IP protection strategy with identification of the best exploitation strategy for valorising the know-how.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsHost institution
20133 Milano
Italy