Accurate, deep tissue functional spectroscopy for a wide field of biomedical research

Project leader: Associate Professor Teemu Myllylä

The project aims at developing a novel spatially accurate deep-tissue imaging technique and a possibility to monitor in real-time tissue effects of focussed ultrasound (FUS) and X-ray, particularly in brain therapies. X-ray is extensively used in oncology whereas FUS is a rapidly expanding technology. The non-invasiveness of the FUS makes it particularly attractive in transcranial therapies: neuromodulation, surgery, and drug delivery. Moreover, recent pre-clinical studies indicate that disrupting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with FUS can also facilitate the removal of the protein accumulations in the brain. However, as a significant shortcoming, there is no accurate monitoring available for BBB disruption, neither for FUS transcranial therapies. The goal is to advance both radiotherapy and FUS by integrating optics-based monitoring into the therapies. The novel approach will radically improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy and the FUS technique for their current and future clinical use.

Strategic research project of the University of Oulu
Focus institute: Infotech Oulu
Faculty: Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE)