Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Cancer ranks the second among all causes of death, exceeded only by heart diseases in North America. If detected in the pre-invasive stage, the survival rate can be significantly increased. Optical imaging provides a noninvasive way to visualize and detect precancerous and cancerous lesions. Multiphoton Microscopy (MPM) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) are two cutting-edge imaging techniques. MPM detects cells and extracellular matrix with sub-micron resolution and molecular specificity. OCT provides cross-sectional tomographic images showing anatomic structure of tissues on a millimeter scale. We propose to develop a multi-modality microscopy system integrating MPM and OCT on a single platform. It will provide simultaneous structural and functional information of thick tissues. A large cross-sectional view of tissue structure, vascular density and blood flow, as well as fibrous tissue orientation can be provided by OCT. High-resolution cellular imaging can then be used to zoom in on regions of interest with MPM.The equipment requested is a femtosecond, Ti:sapphire laser system. The laser is the source of photons for both MPM and OCT imaging. Without the laser, the imaging system will not function. The main features of the laser include 10 fs pulse duration and 100 nm spectral width, which are optimum for high-resolution OCT, highly efficient MPM, and co-registration between MPM and OCT. Application will be carried out in UBC and the BC Cancer Agency to study lung cancer, which is the leading cause of death from cancer. The use of the proposed optical imaging to detect lung cancer in its pre-invasive stage while the disease is curable has the potential to have a huge impact in the management of this highly fatal disease. The multi-modality MPM/OCT system that can image deep into the bronchial wall with single cell resolution as well as probe the biochemical contents would be a distinct advantage to study the lung carcinogenesis process.