Michelle is working on a project in the rapidly growing field of medical imaging, which is one of the most common and successful medical applications of Physics. Her summer project consisted of testing a brand-new form of medical imaging known as Optoacoustic Imaging. Recently UPEI acquired one of only two Optoacoustic imaging systems in the world. The imaging system uses a combination of laser light and sound waves to form three-dimensional images of a target. Theoretically, this form of imaging could deliver higher resolution images than those of traditional ultrasound. This new system may provide better imaging to monitor cancer growth and response to therapy. Optoacoustic imaging has no harmful effects such as x-rays and could one day replace x-ray imaging in some applications.
One of these applications is to monitor treatment from thermal therapy, a type of treatment used against many forms of cancer. Michelle performed a number of imaging experiments to test the new system’s ability to detect thermal damage to tissue. These experiments were carried out on two types of tissue, one mimicking phantom damage to determine how well the machine performed, and the other consisting of tissue that was actually damaged by heat to form lesions, to determine the system’s sensitivity to detect thermal changes. The dimensions of the lesions in the optoacoustic images agreed with the true, measured dimensions of the lesions. These experiments have aided in determining the systems ability to detect and monitor thermal therapy.
Student Research