InLightenUs research

We aim to develop medical devices that can be used in GP surgeries and on hospital wards which enable doctors and nurses to see inside a patient’s body and provide fast diagnoses and considerable savings for the NHS.

We aim to replace the current imaging technology used by healthcare professionals which can provide diagnoses of disease but also come with limitations. MRI scans provide detailed imagery for diagnosis but are expensive and require a contrast agent to be injected into the patient’s body which can be toxic. X-Rays are also a powerful diagnosis tool but can be dangerous and only show bones, whilst ultrasound is non-invasive but does not provide high resolution images.

Far-red ‘invisible’ light has the potential to provide clearer diagnostic information fast, and is harmless so does not have any of the damaging effects of other technologies. Current diagnostic light microscopy technology can only penetrate 1mm beneath a patient’s skin. The team are looking to develop lasers that can go to 5mm, deep enough to diagnose melanomas, and then to 10s of mm which would allow healthcare workers to look at joints and bones, improving diagnosis for diseases such cancer and osteoarthritis. By harnessing world-leading optical physics, cutting edge detector technology and artificial intelligence the project will allow affordable, non invasive early detection of disease that will significantly enhance the quality of life of an aging UK population.

Light Fantastic 

Professor Amanda Wright, leads the University of Nottingham team, in trying to identify early markers of diseases so that patient diagnosis and can be improved for diseases such as cancer and osteoarthritis. The team of computer scientists and optical engineers use  techniques of computer vision, image processing, machine learning ,adaptive optics, wavefront correction and monte carlo simulation to push the boundaries in optical imaging.

Terrific Technologies 

Professor Sumeet Mahajan explains how the technologies developed at the University of Southampton aim to transform the way healthcare professional diagnose patients. These new technologies will allow clinicians to use single cell level information to diagnose diseases such as cancer and osteoarthritis. New lasers will be developed in a completely new wavelength regime that are able to penetrate the body externally and most importantly, causing no harm to the patient. Transforming diagnosis in this way will greatly benefit patients allowing them to receive diagnosis locally, at GP surgeries rather than waiting for appointments to attend hospitals for their healthcare.   

Creative Chemistry 

Professor Mark Bradley explains how new engineering and chemistry technologies developed at the University of Edinburgh are being used to create new imaging systems that can better diagnose joint and bone diseases and cancers. These new imaging systems will use detector arrays that function in the 'golden window' of 1500-3000 nm regime. New chemistries will be developed so that the new systems can use fluorophores that absorb light well beyond the traditional 1000 nm and enable deeper optical imaging of bone tissues and tumours.