A new medical imaging method being developed at Rutgers University could help physicians detect cancer and other diseases earlier, speeding treatment and reducing the need for invasive, time-consuming biopsies.
The potentially life-saving technique uses nanotechnology to reveal small cancerous tumours and cardiovascular lesions deep inside the body. It is showing promise in early tests by Rutgers researchers in the schools of engineering and pharmacy.
The Rutgers scientists, who published initial results of their work in the July 2014 issue of the journal Nature Communications, were recently awarded a $2.2 million USD grant from the US National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance their research.
According to Prabhas Moghe, the lead researcher on the project and distinguished professor of biomedical engineering and chemical and biochemical engineering, the new mode of fluorescent imaging aims to reveal diseases earlier and to learn more about the diseases before performing surgery. He likes to think of it as an optical biopsy.
According to Shridar Ganesan, associate director for Translational Science at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and clinical advisor for the project, the technique could eventually be used to accurately determine whether a newly detected cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, which should help a surgeon deal with the full extent of disease in a single surgery. Currently, a surgeon who can’t tell how far a cancer has spread may do lymph node biopsies and wait a day for results and then perform a second surgery if needed, with its attendant trauma, risks and costs.
Rutgers engineers developing new imaging technologies for early detection of cancers include, from left, Laura Higgins, Richard Riman, Margot Zevon and Prabhas Moghe. Photo: Carl Blesch
The Rutgers technology, co-developed by Richard Riman, distinguished professor of Materials Science and Engineering, uses a different type of infrared (IR) light than is used for imaging today. Called shortwave infrared (SWIR), it penetrates skin and other tissue more deeply than visible light or the near-infrared (NIR) light used in current imaging methods. This light stimulates dyes made with nanocrystals of rare earth elements: a family of 17 similar metals that are not scarce but are difficult to mine. Rare earth elements are in growing demand for electronic products such as smart phones, video screens and electric car motors and batteries.
While scientists and physicians have long recognised the potential value of SWIR light, fluorescent dyes that react to this light have been too toxic to use safely or could not deliver sharp images. The dyes that Moghe and his team are developing encapsulate rare-earth nanocrystals in a shell of human serum albumin. They are well tolerated, distribute quickly through the body and accumulate at disease sites.
The researchers can employ different types of rare-earth elements, which glow under slightly different colours of SWIR light, to create a family of probes that are sensitive to a variety of cancers. According to Moghe, this way, they can get a precise picture of the makeup and stage of the disease.
The researchers have demonstrated positive results in laboratory mice and have shown that the spread of cancer even on a very small scale can be detected earlier than with traditional techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or NIR imaging. This new approach may open up new avenues for early intervention.
Working with Moghe and Riman are engineering colleagues Charles Roth, Vidya Ganapathy and Mark Pierce along with Mei-Chee Tan, a professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Also participating are graduate students Margot Zevon, Harini Kantamneni, and Laura Higgins.
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