Descripción del proyecto
Adiós a las biopsias y bienvenida la «microscopia» «in vivo» para el diagnóstico no invasivo del cáncer
Las técnicas de imagenología «in vivo» no invasivas han revolucionado nuestra capacidad de obtener datos importantes tanto en entornos de investigación como clínicos. Además de poder estudiar la anatomía y la fisiología en individuos conscientes y activos, podemos hacerlo sin someterlos a la angustia, la incomodidad y las posibles complicaciones de los procedimientos invasivos. Sin embargo, por lo que refiere al diagnóstico del cáncer, la biopsia de tejido extirpado todavía es el método de referencia. El proyecto GSYNCOR , financiado con fondos europeos, pretende cambiar esta situación. Su equipo empleará una técnica probada de imagenología no invasiva cuyos principales inconvenientes son la complejidad y el coste, y abordará estos desafíos. Los científicos prevén mejorar considerablemente el rendimiento a la vez que disminuyen la complejidad, reducen el coste y abrir así la puerta a que pueda ser utilizada por personal no especializado. El diagnóstico no invasivo y de alta precisión de tumores podría estar a la vuelta de la esquina.
Objetivo
The current standard of tumour diagnostics is histopathology, where excisions are taken from the tissue of a diseased patient, followed by staining and visual inspection. The process is time-consuming, costly, with low sensitivity and specificity. The results are subjective and qualitative, heavily depending on the judgement of the doctor. Spontaneous Raman microscopy is a label-free and non-invasive imaging technique, which enables to obtain objective and quantitative information on the tissue, by measuring its detailed molecular composition. It has proven capability to discriminate between healthy and tumour tissue and to identify the type and grade of tumour. Its main drawback is the very weak Raman signal, resulting in slow acquisition speed. This means that acquisition of a complete image would take up to several hours, prohibiting real-time and in vivo imaging.
Coherent Raman scattering (CRS) generates the signal from a coherent superposition of the molecules in the tissue, illuminated by two synchronized ultrashort light pulses of different colour, thus improving by several orders of magnitude the acquisition speed. This enables real-time, in vivo imaging of the tissue allowing doctors to make informed diagnostic and/or therapeutic decisions immediately. The main hurdle of CRS microscopy, which has prevented its widespread adoption in a clinical setting, is the complexity and the high cost of the illuminating laser system, which is bulky and requires handling by specialized personnel.
GSYNCOR aims to drastically simplify the laser system used for CRS microscopy, increasing its reliability and reducing its cost by exploiting the ultrafast and broadband nonlinear optical response of graphene. This enables not only pulsed (mode-locked) operation of a laser system, but also to passively synchronize two different lasers, generating the dual-wavelength pulses required for CRS. This will enable the uptake of CRS as a disruptive biomedical imaging technology.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantInstitución de acogida
CB2 1TN Cambridge
Reino Unido