Grant: Operating Grant

Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of death in industrialized nations. New methods to help diagnose, monitor and potentially find a cure are required to reduce their impact on society. Imaging science has a major role to play in all of these aspects as it can provide quantifiable data that can be used to diagnose and monitor disease but also contribute to the evaluation of new drugs. In recent years, a new biomedical imaging technique combining light pulses and ultrasound has emerged under the name of photoacoustic tomography. When compared to other imaging techniques, it can provide high resolution images combined with high sensitivity to contrast agents. This project will develop both contrast agents and this new imaging technique and evaluate its accuracy, sensitivity and quantification capabilities in the context of atherosclerosis.