24 August 2012
Medical imaging experts gather in Dundee
Image Guided Interventions & Targeted Drug Delivery
A tiny bubble containing anti-cancer drugs is guided through the body, held in place by a focussed ultrasound beam. As the bubble is stopped beside cancer cells it is popped and releases its dose of drugs direct to its target.
That is the vision of targeted drug delivery using MRI and Ultrasound-based technology, offering hope of direct treatments that reduce the drug dose needed and deliver it to the exact spot where it is needed with less side effects.
Now the latest developments in how Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Ultrasound related technologies can be used to develop innovative new ways of carrying out surgery, interventions and delivering drugs into the body will be explored at a major gathering of international experts in Dundee over the next two weeks.
The Institute of Medical Science and Technology (IMSaT) at the University of Dundee is one of the world's leading centres for research into MRI-Ultrasound controlled drug delivery and MR guided surgical techniques.
The centre is hosting a summer school that will be attended by over 50 experts from around the world, including researchers and industry representatives.
"This is one of the most important and rapidly developing areas in the field of image-guided medical interventions and targeted drug delivery," said Professor Andreas Melzer, Director of IMSaT.
"Magnetic Resonance technology offers great potential to develop new and better ways of approaching these issues but there are challenges that have to be met. The summer schools we are hosting will bring together expertise from around the world to address these and to train participants 'hands on'."
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not currently widely used in the surgical and interventional environment. Devices such as cannula, guided wires, catheters for delivering vascular implants and the emerging field of biophotonic imaging probes are usually not MRI compatible and are not designed to be used in conjunction with MRI.
The second week of events at IMSaT will see it host a European Summer School on Targeted Drug Delivery in collaboration with the Nanoporation Industry Academia Partnerships and Pathways project. This aims to explore solutions to overcome the current challenges of drug delivery to cancer cells using MR (magnetic resonance) guided focused ultrasound.
The European Summer School on Image Guided Interventions by the Integrated Interventional Operating System takes place from August 27th to 31st followed by the European Summer School on Targeted Drug Delivery, from September 3rd to 7th.
For more on IMSaT see: www.imsat.org.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Highlighted Speakers
27th August - Techniques for Optical Biopsy:
"An Introduction to Biophotonics", Leonard Fass, PhD, Imperial College, UK
"In-Situ Pathology with Raman Spectroscopy", Kishan Dholakia, PhD, University of St. Andrews, UK
28th August - Workflow for Image Guidance:
"Workflow for MRI Guidance MRI Rooms", Elizabeth van Vorstenbosch-Lynn, PhD, Philips Healthcare, NL
"Workflow for Operating Rooms", Andre Baumgart, PhD, Heidelberg University, DE
29th August - MR Guided Percutaneous Interventions:
"MR Thermometry", Andrew Holbrook, PhD, Stanford University, USA
"MR Guided Ablations: Abdomen and Soft Tissue", Thomas Vogl, MD, University of Frankfurt, DE
30th August - MR Guided Vascular Interventions:
"State of the Art in Device Tracking", Charles Dumoulin, PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, USA
"Multimodal Data Fusion for Interventional Guidance of Cardiovascular Procedures", Kawal Rhode, PhD, King's College London, UK
31st August - Hands-On Deep Brain Stimulation:
"Introduction And Deep Brain Stimulation: Clinical Background", Sam Eljamel, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Dundee, UK
MRI guided Surgery features: Hands-On Equipment and Software Handling and Procedure Demonstration in the MR Scan Room on Thiel soft embalmed cadaver
3rd September - Ultrasound for Focal Drug Delivery:
"Ultrasound field measurement and calibration techniques", Gail ter Haar, PhD, The Institute of Cancer Research, UK
4th September - Therapeutic Cavitation:
"Cavitation-enhanced drug delivery", Constantin - C. Coussios, PhD, Oxford Institute for Biomedical Engineering, UK
5th September - Nano Carriers:
"Targeted drug delivery in the brain", Nathan McDannold, PhD, Harvard Medical School, USA
6th September - MR Guided Focused Ultrasound :
"Introduction to MRgFUS (MRI and Ultrasound basics, ExAblate - general features)", Yoav Medan, PhD, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
"Clinical Experience with the ExAblate System ", Wladyslaw Gedroyc, PhD, St Mary's Hospital, UK
"Thermometry Methods in Pace with Faster FUS treatments", Florian Steinmeyer, PhD, Ohm University, Germany
7th September - Hands-On MRgFUS:
Tutors: Alex & Osnat Volovick, University of Dundee, UK
Training and hands on experience of using both the body system and conformal bone system that are available at the Institute for Medical Science and Technology
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