Archive for category: News

UC Irvine biomedical engineering researchers have developed a new fast, robust microscopy imaging technique that could better capture detailed and precise information of cellular processes, such as characterizing migrating cancer cells. The technique combines two broadly applied microscopy methods – spectral imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) – by developing a true parallel detection system for simultaneous measurements that can be processed in real time.

Led by Enrico Gratton, Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics at the Samueli School of Engineering, the team published their research in the April 15, 2021, issue of Nature Methods.

“This new technique works on live cells; there is no need for fixation,” said Gratton. “We believe the information we obtain could be augmented by genomic and proteomics data. More importantly, Phasor S-FLIM can provide results in tissues that are difficult to measure using these omics approaches. This would be a new paradigm for researchers who are using advanced imaging to solve hard-to-investigate living cells and gain important insights on human health.”

The new fluorescence microscopy method uses the color properties and emission duration of fluorescent dyes to achieve high specificity and sensitivity in imaging living cells. It is an extremely valuable tool in biomedical research as most of today’s microscopes rarely obtain emission spectrum and fluorescence lifetime, and only a handful can do it on the same microscope. This process is, however, very slow and requires high power for illumination, greatly limiting the acquisition speed and damaging the sample.

Read the full article on the UCI Samueli School of Engineering website.

By: Anna Lynn Spitzer, UCI Samueli School of Engineering

April 6, 2021 – UC Irvine’s Elliot Botvinick, professor of biomedical engineering, has been awarded a three-year, $3.5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to further the development of an innovative continuous-use monitor for those with Type 1 diabetes. The first-of-its-kind device will simultaneously measure insulin, glucose, lactate, oxygen and the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate with a single probe inserted just beneath the skin.

Called iGLOBE (Insulin + Glucose + Lactate + Oxygen + Beta-HydroxybutyratE) LifeStrip, the monitor utilizes light and chemistry to provide sensing capabilities for multiple analytes, which can be critical for controlling blood glucose and detecting possible dangerous events in those with the disease. The device will include continuous insulin monitoring and improve dosing efficacy by providing real-time feedback on the dynamics of insulin-pump therapy as well as real-time estimates of a patient’s sensitivity to the insulin.

It is also important to monitor blood glucose in those with Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin dependent diabetes. When blood glucose is elevated above normal values, a condition called hyperglycemia, the body produces a chemical called beta-hydroxybutyrate through a metabolic reaction. Elevated beta-hydroxybutyrate is associated with diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition, which can result in hospitalization or death. iGLOBE monitors this chemical both as a “smoke alarm” to indicate dangerous levels and as an additional test to ensure automated insulin delivery is functioning properly.

Monitoring lactate, produced during exercise, is important as well, as it can indicate changing metabolic states, which can lead to changes in blood glucose in the hours after exercise. Knowledge of such metabolic shifts will improve glucose prediction and improve insulin dosing.

“Clinical evidence suggests that both beta-hydroxybutyrate and insulin sensing would improve outcomes and decrease the rates of hospitalization, severe morbidity and death associated with hypo- and hyperglycemia,” said Botvinick, who is also associate director of UCI’s Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology and a professor of surgery at UCI Beckman Laser Institute (BLI).

Botvinick is collaborating with Gregory Weiss, UCI professor of chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry, who is managing the project’s protein chemistry and protein engineering aspects, including development of insulin-sensing films; and David O’Neal M.D., professor of endocrinology at Australia’s University of Melbourne, where the device ultimately will undergo animal and human trials. The team includes John Weidling, BLI associate project scientist, and biomedical engineering graduate students Toni Wilkinson and Dat Nguyen.

The device includes an insertion system that allows the thin fiber sensor to be inserted by a spring-loaded custom needle, which users will place just beneath the skin, either in the abdomen or the upper arm. Researchers also will generate designs for mass-manufacturing capability and assembly, ensuring that processes adhere to FDA guidelines.

Botvinick believes his group’s multi-analyte system is the first of its kind. The work is a continuation of a current device developed by his team that includes sensors for glucose, lactate and oxygen; its primary advantage over commercially available and emerging products is the relative ease by which analyte-measurement pads can be added without significantly increasing the size of the probe.

The addition of beta-hydroxybutyrate and insulin monitoring capabilities has the potential to be life-altering. “When taken together, glucose, lactate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and insulin monitoring can transform the care of people with type 1 diabetes,” Botvinick said. “iGLOBE can improve glucose control, compensate for glucose variations associated with exercise, inform of possible or current diabetic ketoacidosis and inform of failing or failed insulin delivery.”

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting exceptional efforts in the U.S. and around the world in health and select place-based initiatives. It has awarded more than $3 billion since its inception in 2008.

Read full article on the UCI Samueli School of Engineering website.

Modulated Imaging Inc. (DBA Modulim), Irvine
David Cuccia, Ph.D., Founder & CTO

Modulim is a medical device company spun out of the Photonic Incubator in the Beckman Laser Institute
and Medical Clinic (BLI) at UC Irvine. Dr. Cuccia founded Modulim to develop optical technologies that
will impact a number of clinical problems in the diagnostic and therapeutic monitoring sector,
particularly prediction, staging and monitoring of chronic wounds. To date, Dr. Cuccia and his team
have successfully raised approximately $11 million in grant funds and $10 million in private capital to
develop the company. Modulim received 501(k) FDA clearance and CE Mark for Clarifi, a quantitative,
non-contact optical device for wide-field imaging of subsurface circulatory compromise, and aided at
helping Diabetic patients avoid complications such as chronic wounds and resulting amputations.
Modulim received its own CPT code, 0061U, which allows doctors to typically bill $25 patient visit.

Click here to learn more about Modulim. Click here to learn more about the Orange County Business
Journal’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards.

Scientists at UCI’s Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic conduct the first ever study to show that brushing with a novel toothpaste improves symptoms in patients with periodontitis

Irvine, Calif, March 24, 2021 — While several recent studies show that individuals with chronic gum disease are more likely to experience potentially life-threatening complications if they contract COVID-19, a new study shows promise in addressing the root issue. Researchers at the University of California Irvine’s Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic recently reported results of a six-month long study, published in The Journal of Periodontology, showing for the first time that a novel toothpaste demonstrated medically significant improvements in the health of the gums of patients with periodontitis, the most severe form of gum disease.

(Link to study: https://aap.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/JPER.20-0721)

Gum disease affects 65 million Americans today (almost half of Americans adults over 30 years of age). New research has shown that COVID-19 patients with gum disease are almost nine times more likely to die compared to those without gum disease. They were also 3.5 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care, and 4.5 times more likely to need a ventilator. Furthermore, a study in the Journal of Periodontology found that severe gum disease (periodontitis) is highest among ethnic minorities (63.5% of Hispanic, 59.1% of African American, and 50% of Asian Americans). In other words, severe gum disease could be a contributing factor to high risk of COVID-related complications and deaths, especially in ethnic communities.

As a part of her focus on translational research, Dr. Petra Wilder Smith initiated a double-blinded study testing a novel dental gel against an FDA approved anti-gingivitis toothpaste to investigate their effects on gum health in patients with early to moderate periodontitis. The six-month long study compared how the two toothpastes affected periodontal pocket depths, gingival inflammation, and gum bleeding in patients with periodontitis who were in maintenance care.

The findings revealed that subjects who brushed with the novel LivFresh Dental Gel experienced clinically and statistically significant improvements in their symptoms versus the control group that brushed with an over-the-counter, FDA-approved anti-plaque, anti-gingivitis toothpaste.

Dental plaque is the root cause of gum disease and a primary barrier to healing and resolution of periodontitis. Several previous laboratory and clinical studies by Wilder-Smith’s group have demonstrated that the novel formulation retards on a molecular level dental plaque formation, attachment and re-accumulation at the tooth surface by increasing its negative charge. The charged surface prevents early individual plaque islands from coalescing into larger deposits, discourages plaque from attaching to the tooth surface and supports the breakup of existing plaque deposits. Thus, by inhibiting dental plaque, the novel formulation reduces the presence of the harmful plaque bacteria and bacterial products that are implicated in chronic gum disease.

In individuals who brushed with the test gel, pocket depths in the gums improved in more than 80% of diseased sites. Additionally, subjects who brushed with the new formulation had 2.5 times less gum inflammation and 1.9 times less gum bleeding, when compared to the group using the conventional toothpaste.

“This novel dental gel represents a potentially groundbreaking tool for improving and maintaining gum health in patients suffering from periodontal disease. The results of our studies show that periodontal patients may be able to obtain significant oral health benefits through this new formulation,” said Wilder-Smith, the study’s primary investigator and professor and director of dentistry at Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic. “We anticipate that this novel formulation, when used in combination with professional periodontal care, may revolutionize healing in the gums and maintenance of periodontal health.” Larger and longer studies are now in progress to solidify these finding.

This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation and Livionex Inc. The authors report no conflicts of interest related to this study.

The UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic is one of five national Beckman Institutes supported by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation with others at: California Institute of Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stanford University, and City of Hope Hospital and Medical Center.  Each Beckman Institute is dedicated to cutting-edge research at the interface between disciplines. The UCI location is a unique translational technology center, moving new technologies rapidly from the laboratory benchtop to the patient bedside.