The first step towards a new biomedical imaging modality is the development of a measurement technology that can provide high-fidelity data. Since the late nineties Prof. Hielscher's group has collaborated on this aspect with researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and NIRx Medical Technologies, LLC, a Long Island based start-up company that specializes in optical tomographic imaging system. A prototype developed within this collaboration is the dynamic optical tomography system (DYNOT), which has the fastest data-acquisition rate of all currently available systems on the market and allows studying physiological effects on sub-second time scale. Prof. Hielscher's group has used this system to study vascular reactivity in the human brain and finger joints afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition the system has been employed to study brain function and cancer models in mice and rats.
The DYNOT system and all other currently available instrumentation in the field are based on analogue signal detection technology. The Biophotonics and Optical Radiology Laboratory is currently developing a novel digital detector technology that uses a digital-signal-processing chip as its core component. The digital-based design offers distinct benefits over existing analog detection systems. By implementing the data acquisition and filtering via a digital signal processor embedded in-system, we achieve substantially higher signal-to-noise ratios, reduce the data acquisition time, reduce the instrument size, and can provide an overall improved imaging system at a lower cost. The BORL team recently filed a patent application concerning this technology through Columbia’s Technology Transfer Office, and a licensing agreement with NIRx is currently negotiated.
The development of this digital system has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the New York State Center for Advanced Technology at Columbia University, and start-up funds provided by the Whitaker Foundation. To go from the prototype assembled in my laboratory to a practical breast cancer imaging system, my group recently received $750,000 through the Technology Transfer Incentive Program (TTIP) of the New York State Office of Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR). Under the condition of this grant, NIRx will provide an additional $750,000 in matching funds to my group, and support our efforts to build, test, and market this new instrument.
Another system under development is specific for imaging of joints diseases. Currently employed optical imaging systems require patient to hold their hand and fingers still for up to 15 minutes. This has led to many motion artifacts in previous clinical studies. To overcome this problem, we look to capture and image of the entire finger in less than 10 seconds. The system under development combines the latest in CCD-camera technology with an ergonometric hand placement station. Work on this hand-and-finger imager is currently funded by NIAMS.
Finally, the NIBIB is currently funding the development of a small animal imaging system that combines MRI with OT technology. This system will take advantage of the high spatial resolution afforded by MRI with the high temporal resolution provided by OT systems. To this end we have designed a radio-frequency Helmholz probe that has optical fiber embedded in its outer walls to allow fixation onto an animal’s surface. Once implemented this will be the first hybrid MRI-OT imaging system in the world and should provide a unique resource for many researchers and applications at Columbia.
The DYNOT system and all other currently available instrumentation in the field are based on analogue signal detection technology. The Biophotonics and Optical Radiology Laboratory is currently developing a novel digital detector technology that uses a digital-signal-processing chip as its core component. The digital-based design offers distinct benefits over existing analog detection systems. By implementing the data acquisition and filtering via a digital signal processor embedded in-system, we achieve substantially higher signal-to-noise ratios, reduce the data acquisition time, reduce the instrument size, and can provide an overall improved imaging system at a lower cost. The BORL team recently filed a patent application concerning this technology through Columbia’s Technology Transfer Office, and a licensing agreement with NIRx is currently negotiated.