Therapeutic Imaging

In the majority of current medical practice, diagnostic imaging and therapeutic procedures are intrinsically separate, often involving entirely different teams of experts. Whilst this takes advantage of the highly developed skills of narrow specialisms, it can have significant drawbacks: it is resource intensive; lack of real-time monitoring increases the risk of ineffective treatment or collateral damage; long waiting times between diagnosis and treatment and/or treatment and follow up are psychologically and often physically detrimental to patients due to disease progression; and there is increased risk of patients not attending or not complying with treatment regimes. The aim of the proposed research programme is to build a world leading multi-disciplinary team to develop new methods and technologies that will truly integrate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and produce a step change in clinical practice. The research activity will be focused in three areas:-Developing new types of agent for targeted drug delivery which will enable clinicians to monitor the placement, transport and controlled release of drugs and other therapeutic material. -Understanding the mechanisms by which these agents interact with cells and tissue to enable the design of safer, more reliable delivery strategies-Designing technology that will not only enable tracking of therapeutic material but also active manipulation and stimulation.The outcomes of the research will directly benefit patients, clinicians and other healthcare workers by providing new, more efficient and effective procedures. This will in turn yield economic benefits, directly through new products and services for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, and by reducing demand on healthcare resources. To realise these outcomes, a key feature of the research strategy will be to maintain close working relationships with both clinical and industrial partners to maintain the focus of the work on the most relevant research challenges and to identify and access the most appropriate and efficient routes for translation.The research will also lead to new discoveries and the development of a range of experimental and theoretical tools which will be of direct benefit to the research community. Another important aspect of the programme will thus be training of the research team to communicate effectively across disciplinary boundaries as well as through wider public engagement activities. Through building on the proposed pilot studies and collaborations with academics, clinicians and industry a research project portfolio will be constructed which will sustain the activity of the group beyond 5 years in order to fully realise the integration of diagnostic imaging and therapy from concept to clinic.

It is intended that the outcomes of the proposed work will have a real and positive impact upon academic research, industrial competitiveness and most importantly clinical practice, through the provision of new techniques and technologies. The long term strategy for building the group, collaborations and research portfolio has been structured accordingly. A key feature of this strategy is to maintain close working relationships with both clinical and industrial partners to maintain the focus of the work on the most relevant research challenges and to identify and access the most appropriate and efficient routes for translation. The expected benefits arising from the three core activities of the research group are as follows: - The development of new agents that will enable clinicians to monitor the placement, transport and controlled release of drugs and other therapeutic material will greatly improve targeting accuracy, as well as providing real-time, quantitative monitoring of drug concentration. This significantly reduces the risk of ineffective treatment or harmful side-effects, and also the need for repeat and/or follow-up procedures. - Understanding the mechanisms by which these agents interact with cells and tissue will enable the design of safer, more reliable delivery strategies, from the design of the drug vehicle to the means of administration and activation. It will also lead to the development of new sensing technology for researchers in biomedical engineering and with wider applications for remote sensing in other areas and industries (e.g. nuclear, marine and aerospace). - Providing technology that will not only enable tracking of therapeutic material but also its active guidance and activation will facilitate new clinical procedures with the potential to remove the separation between imaging and treatment altogether. These outcomes will directly benefit patients, clinicians and other healthcare workers by providing new, more efficient and effective procedures that will lead to better recovery rates and more focused contact time between patients and clinicians. This will in turn yield economic benefits, directly through new products and services for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. It will also reduce the call on healthcare resources, e.g. by removing the need for multiple separate imaging and treatment appointments, reducing the risk of disease progression between appointments and of patient non-compliance. The savings in staff and equipment time should significantly outweigh the potentially higher cost of the new agents and equipment. It is anticipated that the first prototype agents will be available for pre-clinical testing within 2 years of the start of the program through the proposed pilot project with Biocompatibles Ltd. The investigation of the mechanisms of interaction is of a more conventional academic nature but its findings will influence the design of drug delivery systems developed within the group and subsequently of those in other research groups in 3-5 years. Similarly, the first prototype systems for therapeutic imaging, incorporating guidance and activation will be developed over the course of the 5 year program with a view to commencing clinical trials shortly thereafter. The research programme has been designed to sustain the group's activity to continue to pioneer the design and development of integrated imaging and therapeutic systems beyond the 5 year programme. The highly interdisciplinary nature of the work will generate researchers with experience and skills from traditionally separate fields who are able to communicate their research not only through academic publications and presentations across disciplinary boundaries, but also to industrial and clinical partners. This experience will both improve their employment potential and provide a valuable resource for the academic and commercial research sectors.