Interdisciplinary Research
Stimulating Health Technology
Innovation in IMSaT
Dr Mike MacDonald
IMSaT and Physics
University of Dundee
23 April 2010
Background
IMSaT
• Institute for Medical Science
and Technology (IMSaT)
launched in January
2008 by University of
Dundee to promote
joint activity
between medicine,
life sciences and
the physical
IMSaT
sciences and
engineering
Science and Engineering
IMSaT
• Institute for Medical Science
and Technology (IMSaT)
launched in January
2008 by University of
Dundee to promote
joint activity
between medicine,
life sciences and
the physical
IMSaT
sciences and
engineering
Science and Engineering
Ninewells Hospital
Realisation
• More than £6M investment
IMSaT
• More than £17M awards since
launch
• Now ~50 staff and students
• Facilities almost completed
Facilities
Local Laboratories
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Cell biology and nanomedicine
Interventional MRI
Surgical Technology
Photonics
Ultrasonics
IMSaT Infrastructure
Local Laboratories
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Cell biology and nanomedicine
Interventional MRI
Surgical Technology
Photonics
Ultrasonics
IMSaT Infrastructure
Local Laboratories
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Cell biology and nanomedicine
Interventional MRI
Surgical Technology
Photonics
Ultrasonics
IMSaT Infrastructure
Staff and Collaborators
IMSaT 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 MacDonald, 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 MacDonald – 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 MacLeod, 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
IMSaT’s strategic plan includes a project pipeline
for commercialisation of research
Large Projects
• Nanoporation (£1.8M) – Targeted drug delivery
• Sonotweezers (£1.5M) – Particle / cell manipulation
• Lightsheet microscopy (£0.7M) – embryo imaging
• Biomag (£1.4M) – Surgical manipulation of magnetised
tissue
• Laparoscopy (£2.5M) – New tools for keyhole surgery
• IIIOS (£3.7M) – Interventional imaging operating
system
• DPFS (£0.6M) - Device / model development
Sample of Other Projects
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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)
MRgFUS (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:
MRgFUS
MRgFUS: 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
• MRgFUS - MRIguided focused
ultrasound
surgery
• Ultrasound guidance
also possible
MRgFUS
Thiel cadaver with InSightec 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
• IMSaT 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
• ISO13485/GLP Certification To reduce barriers
to clinical adoption
• Additional facilities Establishment of full
preclinical resource unit