"In Vivo Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging and Image-guided Therapy of Cancer"

Stanislav Emelianov, Ph.D.
Joseph M. Pettit Chair in Microelectronics
Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Tech

Manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular level to produce the desired nanometer scale structures has an enormous potential in the field of medicine including diagnostics, drug delivery, therapy, and treatment monitoring. This presentation, via examples, will offer a few insights into how nanotechnology and imaging devices can change both fundamental medical science and the clinical management of diseases.

Specifically, several high-resolution, high-sensitivity, depth-resolved imaging techniques capable of visualizing structural, functional and molecular/cellular properties of tissue will be introduced. These techniques rely on targeted imaging contrast nanoagents to visualize the cellular and molecular signature of the disease or pathology. For example, ultrasound-guided photoacoustic (USPA) imaging (e.g., lightning and thunder) will be introduced where ultrasound is used to visualize the anatomical features and functional/physiological activity, and nanoparticle-augmented photoacoustics is used to assess molecular/cellular information about the tissue. Several applications of in vivo USPA imaging ranging from the cancer detection and diagnosis to cell tracking to image-guided molecular and mechano-thermal therapy will be presented. The role of the nanoconstructs in these applications will be highlighted, and the development of nanoconstructs with enhanced properties will be discussed. Finally, current challenges and concerns associated with nanobiotechnology will be presented, and possible solutions will be discussed.