Cancer Spotting Googles by Dr Samuel Achilefu - Essay Example

Cancer Spotting Google’s by Dr. Samuel Achilefu al Affiliation Cancer Spotting Google’s by Dr. Samuel Achilefu Introduction A PhD holder and a professor, Dr. Samuel Achilefu has majors in Biochemistry, radiology and Molecular Biophysics. He is also the Optical Radiology Lab director in St. Louis, MO. University School of Medicine in Washington. His areas of research extends to divergent field, that include blood substitutes (hematology), colloidal systems, as well as the evaluation and development of imaging agents for nuclear, optical, magnetic and ultrasound resonance imaging modalities. The use of nanomaterial’s and small molecules are used in his research to develop imaging multimodal molecular imaging processes platforms. He has helped in creating over 41 US issued patents that mainly relate to applications of imaging and he has authored many scientific publications. With his knowledge in different molecular imaging aspects and experiences in both industry and academia, Dr. Achilefu has offered a different aspect to the management of the Molecular Imaging centers excellence. With this overview, this article will centralize on the profile of Dr. Samuel Achilefu, and touch on the role he has played in applying change strategies that have introduced positive change in the medical field especially with the Cancer Spotting Goggles. Dr. Samuel Achilefu grew up in Ida, Nigeria. While he was still a child, his parents advised him that it was only through the pursuit of a higher education that he could possibly be able to make any visible impact on the world. Since his childhood he was attracted towards the more practical aspects of science, mainly how things worked. For a while, he actually believed that solving equations could actually address all the global problems. However, it was not until he studied biology and chemistry while in college that he realized that to have a chance of actually helping people, it was necessary for him to enter the laboratory. Currently, Dr. Achilefu manages a team of 35 researchers in his laboratory that are mainly devoted to extending the optical imaging boundaries to address the needs of molecular medicine in the current world. The broad definition of optical imaging can be described as the usage of light to be able to visualize an object. A simple microscope often used in laboratories in high school classes is an example of this optical imaging technique. The modern digital imaging system is also another example since it can detect a single molecule or cell that is within the cells. Even with the extensive availability of non-optical techniques like the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) in laboratories and hospitals, the main reason as to why researchers are still interested in the improvement of optical imaging technology can be found in three aspects. The first is on the reason that the equipment’s are expensive. The second is the optical technique that does not utilize iodized radiation since for medical imaging exposure to radiation has rather become a concern. Finally, the Optical imaging has also been known to provide resolutions that are exquisite. The molecules existence especially at concentrations that are low can be captured by the powerful optical cameras up to a trillionth of a mole, a chemistry measurement unit that can be implemented to highlight the level of substances in chemicals. For this resolution, however, the unfortunate trade-off until recently has been on the limit on the depth it offers. Optical techniques traditionally could only penetrate into the living tissues by a few micrometers. The light waves, after that start to scatter, producing pictures that were blurred and unreadable. The teams of Dr. Achilefu at Optical Radiology Laboratory at Washington University have been researching innovative means of surpassing that depth obstacle so that there can there can be a much larger role played in cancer treatment and diagnosis (Chen, et al, 2005). Dr. Achilefu, after the completion of his main training at the Ibadan University, Nigeria’s premier university, received one of the five French government scholarships given to Nigeria’s young students in 1987.He chose to study biochemistry and chemistry and earned his doctoral degree at France Nancy University. He next went to the University of Oxford to do postdoctoral research on the transportation of oxygen through the bloodstream in the body and on the blood substitute’s development. Initially he had hoped to remain on a straight academic career path. He ended up instead on a nearly age long diversion into the industry. At the end of his work tenure at Oxford’s, St. Louis, MO based Mallinckrodt Medical, Inc recruited his mentor to manage a new research department and he managed to convince Dr. Achilefu to accompany him. His term there was quite adventurous he explained that companies paid more interested in copyrights, as compared to scientific publications like in academia, and the process of patents taught him to always be inquisitive. Example what would be the exactly impact of what he has been doing in the labs on the people that he intends to help. He actually got used to this way of thinking and it directed the impact of the research that he did. Dr. Achilefu, at Mallinckrodt continued their research on the transportation of oxygen and the systems development to aid in the newborns oxygen delivery to the lungs with respiratory distress syndrome. He particularly wondered on the effectiveness with which the hemoglobin molecules were delivered all over the body if the molecules delivery on the molecular level could be used to duplicate bodily biological processes. He often remembers that there was no such thing as molecular imaging in the 1980’s as it is common today, but he notes that people had actually started to think about it, which actually helped peak his curiosity. Then FDA in the early 1990s passed the first peptide-based targeting agent for identifying neuroendocrine tumors in the patient’s body. The invented OctreoScan compound was utilized as a radionuclide. However, it exposed the patients to small levels or doses of radioactivity during the tests. Dr. Achilefu was curious if the same procedure could be carried out without having to use the iodized radiation. It is this inquisitiveness that actually led the doctor to start delving into optical molecular imaging research. Dr. Achilefu by now having almost a decade of experience in researching optical imaging returned to the Washington University School of Medicine. The Optical Radiology Laboratory in just 10 years has been expanded exponentially by Dr. Achilefu to a 35 person multidisciplinary team from the initial one-man team with expertise ranging from medical physics to biochemistry, chemistry, immunology and biomedical engineering. He believes that their engaging in multidisciplinary research is the main reason why people are drawn to that place (Achilefu, 2004). Their current concentration in cancer research is on creating biological and chemical imaging probes that can be implemented to envision their target through the use of near infrared light. As compared to visual light near infrared, light has a much longer wavelength that can permit it to travel much deeper into the body tissues. This technology being taken into intraoperative procedures is currently the fascinating thing being done to identify the margins of tumor that exist in places that normally the surgeons would find hard to see with their naked eye (Blythe Bernhard, 2014 ). The goggles that would allow surgeons during surgery to recognize near infrared fluorescence in tumors tissues have been developed by Dr. Samuel Achilefus laboratory. This prototype is being remodeled to provide binocular vision. The surgeons through the device are enabled to envision the blue glowing, cancer cells. Experiments have proven that the device can make tumors as small as 1mm in diameter visible to the surgeons. The FDA- passed the use of indzyanine contrast agent being injected into the tumor so as to make the affected parts appear blue. The system that is compact is wearable, wireless, battery-operated, and hands-free for much easier mobility and handling. The viewer for the night vision from which the technology was developed was reengineered to provide white light illumination and near-infrared excitation simultaneously. The near-infrared captured data fluorescence is directly deployed through adjustable amplification to the eyepiece (Robert, 2014). Improved from a video transmitter radio frequency that is mainly battery-operated, it has a wireless capability that allows the transfer of videos through the system in real-time to another site where the view of the wearer can be shown clearly. Through this, a remote expert can be able to actually see what is occurring in the operating room in real time mainly from the local surgeon’s point of view, and provide image analysis and expert feedback. In this manner, the technology could be utilized to allow for remote counseling, help with the generation of real-time pathological tissues analysis and it can still be applied to highlight prompt medical interventions (Newsroom, 2014). An enhancement on current approaches of intra-operative imaging is signified within the new eyepiece. These are often logistically complex, expensive, risky and oftentimes consuming as in cases when there is need for radioactive tracers. This dangerous ionizing radiation is emitted to both surgeons and patients. There can be adverse reactions from the blue dye used by surgeons so as to be able to see the sentinel lymph nodes without any special aids. After getting global positive feedback from researchers on the applicability of the device in actual practice, the team has started refining the goggles and shrinking its prototype to offer three dimensional vision binocular to surgeons with the objective of experimenting it on human tumors. The devices concept mainly originated from a discussion among scientists and surgeons on the challenges that they often encounter while trying to identify the tumor cells margins mainly during the cancer surgeries process. It is from this basis that Samuel Achilefu recalled the goggles used for night vision in the Persian Gulf War and the manner in which the technology and the concept can be integrated within the operating room. This was an innovative idea that had never been thought of before. While inventing the gadget, his main idea was on how to simplify the way surgery is guided and how patients are imaged. According to his explanation, once the goggles are worn high sensitivity can be used to detect the infected tissues. In addition, the given information is processed in real time on the tumors shape, location and on the surrounding tissues so that prompt medical decisions can be made (EurekAlert, 2014). Surgeons to strategies on a tumors removal use currently MRI or X-ray images that are taken beforehand. However, because small cluster cells are not picked up by the images, surgeons take nearby lymph nodes and extra surroundings tissues to check for the cancer spread. The labs get the tissues for analysis and in case further cancer is detected, then more scheduling for surgery. Statistics have shown that for patients who have breast lumpectomies up to one-fourth of them have to go back for a second time for surgery so that the remaining cancer can be removed. The system in mice studies, detected cancer as minute as those 1 millimeter in diameter. This is according to the National Cancer Institute teams’ research that was published in the Biomedical Optics Journal. A patent has been applied for the research technology used by the team. Dr. Achilefu is, however, optimistic that in future the technology can be implemented in telemedicine, example if surgeons in the rural areas or in another country are utilizing the device so that other experts can help with the operating procedure, or when the surgeon’s vision is being beamed to screens in medical school classrooms. He adds that the device might also be of use in other areas that do not necessarily relate to medical use, for example from defense to inspection of food to mainly analyses for indications of contaminants or mad cow disease. In another project that is also sponsored by the NCI, Dr. Achilefu’s team is combining endoscopy with near-infrared probes. Their probes currently can perceive about 2cm into the human body, a level if used orendoscopically, in the gastrointestinal cervix or tract can prove to be very useful. An example of this is between catheterization and endoscopy. In hospitals today, a significant number of the procedures being done are agreeable to optical imaging. The team of Dr. Achilefu has plans of trying out the new probe for enhancing the polyp’s removal and small colon tumors during the endoscopic process. Through the NCI funding, the Dr. Achilefu led team has conducted tests to see whether multimodial imaging that are photo acoustic-based and often implement optical sound and technology to pinpoint the cancer cells, could help improve upon traditional breast cancer sentinel lymph node biopsy. In collaboration with the director of Washington University Optical Imaging Laboratory, Dr. Lihong Wang this project is conducting a near-ultraviolet investigation to analyze if minute deposits of cancer cells within the axillary lymph nodes can be identified through imaging alone removing the necessity for suspected sentinel nodes through surgery (Sharon, 2011). The research team and Dr. Achilefu hope to implement in the future their probes to observe the treatment of cancer at a more minute aspect for example to monitor within hours of implementation if the drugs given for chemotherapy reach and affect the cancer cells. Currently, patients have to wait for months or weeks because structural changes within the tumor are being looked for. Dr. Achilefu actually believes that this type of information through optical imaging can be gained within 24 hours and it will be accurately predictive. The unlimited and untapped potentials of the optical technology make Dr. Achilefu remain excited about its concept as he was while he was as a new scientist, observing the inception of its implementation in molecular imaging. In addition, his students who share the same feeling about the optical imaging work technology also help keep him inspired. Conclusion Dr. Samuel Achilefu since childhood has demonstrated resilience and constant urge for self-improvement. By using his unquenchable curiosity to his advantage, he has played an important role in reinventing how the medical field approaches surgery and cancer detection systems can be done. In addition, by finding the weak link in surgery he was able to actually make his own unique mark and contribution to the world, just as he had set out to do from the beginning. Through his research and work, he has helped and inspired many people who normally would not have stood a chance if they used the normal routines of cancer treatment and detection. In addition, the article has shown that the device has also revolutionized optical technology and the medical field as a whole mainly due to the many divergent ways that his innovative gadget can be used. References Achilefu, S. (2004). Lighting up tumors with receptor-specific optical molecular probes. Technology in cancer research & treatment, 3(4), 393-409. Blythe, B. (2014). High-tech goggles give surgeons sci-fi vision, ST LOUIS.POST- DISPATCH, retrieved from http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit Chen, Y., Gryshuk, A., Achilefu, S., Ohulchansky, T., Potter, W., Zhong, T. & Pandey, R. K. (2005). A novel approach to a bifunctional photosensitizer for tumor imaging and phototherapy. Bioconjugate chemistry, 16(5), 1264-1274. EurekAlert (2014). Samuel Achilefu, WUSTL scientists develop high-tech glasses that detect cancer cells during surgery, ECNmag.com Newsroom (2014). Special glasses help surgeons ‘see’ cancer​​​​​​​​​, Washington University in St.Louis, retrieved from http://news.wustl.edu/news Preidt, R. (2014). Experimental Eyewear Helps Surgeons See Cancer, Study Says, Health US News Store. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2014/02/11. Sharon, R. (2011) profiles in Cancer research, National cancer Institute. 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