Interdisciplinary Research Stimulating Health Technology Innovation in IMSa

Interdisciplinary Research Stimulating Health Technology Innovation in IMSa. T Dr Mike Mac. Donald IMSa. T and Physics University of Dundee 23 April 2010

Background

IMSa. T ine dic Me es nc cie e. S Lif • Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSa. T) launched in January 2008 by University of Dundee to promote joint activity between medicine, life sciences and the physical IMSa. T sciences and engineering Science and Engineering

IMSa. T ine dic Me es nc cie e. S Lif • Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSa. T) launched in January 2008 by University of Dundee to promote joint activity between medicine, life sciences and the physical IMSa. T sciences and engineering Science and Engineering

Ninewells Hospital Realisation • More than £ 6 M investment IMSa. T • More than £ 17 M awards since launch • Now ~50 staff and students • Facilities almost completed

Facilities

Local Laboratories • • • Cell biology and nanomedicine Interventional MRI Surgical Technology Photonics Ultrasonics IMSa. T Infrastructure

Local Laboratories • • • Cell biology and nanomedicine Interventional MRI Surgical Technology Photonics Ultrasonics IMSa. T Infrastructure

Local Laboratories • • • Cell biology and nanomedicine Interventional MRI Surgical Technology Photonics Ultrasonics IMSa. T Infrastructure

Staff and Collaborators

IMSa. T Research Leaders • Prof. Andreas Melzer, Director, specialism in MRIguided intervention and surgery • Prof. Sir Alfred Cuschieri, Chief Scientific Advisor, specialism in minimal access surgery • Dr Sandy Cochran, Team Leader in medical ultrasound • Dr Stuart Brown, Team Leader in surgical technology • Dr Mike Mac. Donald, Team Leader in biophotonics • Dr Paul Prentice, Team Leader in photoacoustics • Dr Lijun Wang, Team Leader in cell biology and nanomedicine

Research Leader Backgrounds • Andreas Melzer – pre-clinical • Alfred Cuschieri – clinician/scientist • Sandy Cochran – engineer / physicist • Stuart Brown – mechanical engineer • Mike Mac. Donald – applied physicist • Paul Prentice – applied physicist • Lijun Wang – life scientist • TBC – clinician • TBC – life scientist

Some Local Collaborators • Prof. Alistair Thomson, Surgery and Molecular Oncology, Ninewells Hospital • Dr George Corner, Medical Physics/Ultrasound, Ninewells Hospital • Dr Elaine Henry, Gastroenterology, Ninewells Hospital • Dr Graeme Houston, Oncology, Ninewells Hospital • Dr Zhihong Huang, Ultrasound, Dundee University • Dr Rob Keatch, Tissue Engineering, Dundee Univ. • Dr Graeme Mac. Leod, Anaesthesia, Ninewells Hospital

Some External Collaborators • University of Birmingham, Materials • University of Bristol, Mechanical Engineering • Fraunhofer IKTS, Materials • University of Glasgow, Electronic Engineering • Institute for Cancer Research, Medical Physics • Insightec (Israel), Focused ultrasound surgery • Penn State University, Materials • University of Southampton, Engineering • Trondheim University, Surgical technology • Weidlinger Associates (USA), Design software

Some Previous/Present Collaboration

Strategy and Delivery

Strategic Dimensions • Key Target Area Image-guided intervention • Applications Oncology, Cardiovascular, and Other (e. g. Anaesthesia, Surgical techniques) • Technology MRI, ultrasound, and biophotonic imaging, with state-of-the-art intervention, including surgical technology and devices • Collaboration Strong bias towards scientific, engineering and clinical collaboration • Clinical application Strong bias towards clinical application of research outcomes

Commercialisation IMSa. T’s strategic plan includes a project pipeline for commercialisation of research

Large Projects • Nanoporation (£ 1. 8 M) – Targeted drug delivery • Sonotweezers (£ 1. 5 M) – Particle / cell manipulation • Lightsheet microscopy (£ 0. 7 M) – embryo imaging • Biomag (£ 1. 4 M) – Surgical manipulation of magnetised tissue • Laparoscopy (£ 2. 5 M) – New tools for keyhole surgery • IIIOS (£ 3. 7 M) – Interventional imaging operating system • DPFS (£ 0. 6 M) - Device / model development

Sample of Other Projects • • • • Ultrasonic virtual histology (3 x grad student) Devices for ultrasonic cutting (3 x grad student) Integration of Si and piezoelectrics (1 x postdoc) Ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia (2 x grad student, 1 x undergrad) Laser generated ultrasound (1 x grad student) Photoacoustic imaging (1 x grad student) Optical anastamotic perfusion assessment (1 x ungrad) MRg. FUS (4 x grad student) Tissue motion tracking (2 x grad student) Microbubble processing (1 x grad student) Nerve regeneration with magnetic nanoparticles (1 x postdoc) Organ retraction in surgery (1 x postdoc) Ultrasound phantoms (1 x postdoc)

Case Study: MRg. FUS

MRg. FUS: MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery • Risks of surgical therapy outweigh potential benefits for many patients • E. g. frail, elderly patients and patients with benign tumours • Non-invasive focused ultrasound surgery is a possibility • Image guidance is crucial

Simple Ultrasonic Hyperthermia Custom transducer for high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) Hyperthermia applied to poultry breast in vitro, max. intensity 240 W cm-2

Illustrative Results HFUS Visual Histology SEM

Illustrative Results Necrosed tissue Viable tissue HFUS Visual Histology SEM

Image Guidance • MRI presently the leading image guidance technique • MRg. FUS - MRIguided focused ultrasound surgery • Ultrasound guidance also possible

MRg. FUS Thiel cadaver with In. Sightec Exablate 2000 system

Matrix Array Transducer • Preliminary trials of hyperthermic necrosis of cadaveric liver

Robot-mounted Matrix Array • Demonstration of possible future of image-guided surgery

Summary and the Future

Summary • IMSa. T and its partners now allow seamless translation of basic research into clinical progress • Imaging is a key topic in Dundee • Many projects now under way • Case study: MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery • Great potential; many major companies and universities engaged in clinical studies

Next Steps • Stronger theming Less opportunistic funding, stronger focus on strategy • Commercialisation Recruitment of business liaison person • Enhanced marketing/sales Revised website, planned exhibition and conference attendance • ISO 13485/GLP Certification To reduce barriers to clinical adoption • Additional facilities Establishment of full preclinical resource unit