Public Funding for Moor Instruments Limited

To develop an innovative medical device for optical imaging of blood flow during keyhole surgery to improve patient outcomes.

Reconstructive plastic surgery is in the front line for the removal of cancerous tumours of the breast, head, neck and other sites. Reconstructions following tumour removal usually require the replacement of removed tissue with tissue (i.e. skin, fat, muscle, bone) from other body sites to complete the procedure. The transferred tissues rely on an adequate blood supply to avoid complete or partial failure. The Laser Speckle Imaging technique (LSI) is a new and fast way of seeing blood flow in the skin and other tissues enabling surgeons to optimise tissue blood flow during surgery. The new LSI technique scans areas of up to 15cm x 20cm at video frame rates; larger and faster than other techniques. The purpose of this proposal is to examine the feasibility of applying the new technology for reconstructive plastic surgery. This will benefit patients by avoiding the trauma of a failing reconstruction requiring additional surgery and it will therefore reduce NHS costs.

The 710046 project is developing a dual tissue oxygen and skin perfusion imager.

Full-colour holography is the most perfect imaging technique known to science. The image is essentially indistinguishable from the object. Holograms of human tissue may be examined under a microscope in the same way as a tissue sample, without need for biopsy, and can resolve detail of cell nuclei. The technology required to realise colour holoendoscopy has only recently been developed. Today the appropriate laser sources, polarisation-maintaining fibre optics and recording media exist to construct a prototype full-colour holoendoscope. This project brings together experts from holography, fibre optics, biomedical instruments and medicine to develop a functional prototype device and to analyse its effectiveness in several clinical roles. This technology is expected to have many diagnostic applications, particularly the early detection of gastric, duodenal and colonic cancerous lesions.

Awaiting Public Summary