What is it about? From a handheld 3D photoacoustic scanner capable of generating highly detailed 3D images in just secondswith the key to early or even real-time diagnosis of certain diseases.
Imaging by photoacoustic tomography or PAT scan
uses laser-generated ultrasound waves to visualize subtle changes – from less than a millimeter in depth to 15mm – in the veins and arteries that supply human tissue. Until now, this technological principle was too slow (5 minutes/image) to produce 3D images of sufficient quality usable by clinicians. Because during a PAT scan, patients must be completely still, which means that any movement during a slower scan will make the images blurry, not clinically usable.
The UCL team has developed a new scanner that is faster and capable of diagnosing cancer, cardiovascular disease and arthritis.
Its availability in clinical practice should be effective within 3 to 5 years.
“We have made a lot of progress with photoacoustic imaging in recent years, but there were still obstacles to its clinical use”recalls one of the lead authors, Professor Paul Beard of UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.
A breakthrough linked to the acceleration of the time necessary to obtain 1 image
These technical advances have made it possible to divide the time required for 1 image by 100 to 1,000, compared to previous TAP scanners. A speed that makes it possible to avoid blur induced by patient movement and to obtain very detailed images of a quality that no other scanner can provide.
Many applications: one possible use would be the assessment of inflammatory arthritis, with the opportunity to “scan” 20 finger joints in just a few minutes. Also tested on 10 patients with type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or breast cancer, as well as healthy controls, the new imaging was able to produce detailed 3D images of the microvasculature, highlighting deformations and structural changes in vessels or bring detailed skin inflammation related to breast cancer.
“In one of our patients, we were even able to observe smooth, uniform vessels in the left foot and distorted, wavy vessels in the same region of the right foot, indicating a risk of tissue damage. Photoacoustic imaging could provide us with much more detailed information allowing early diagnosis and, more broadly, more precise monitoring of the progression of the disease or response to treatment.”
While additional research remains necessary with other groups of patients to confirm these results, the practice is already at work, particularly through DeepColor Imaging, a UCL spin-out company which markets a range of scanners based on PAT technology worldwide.
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