Tony Durkin Mailing List

Monday, February 8, 2010

NEWS: Optical Imaging wins FDA nod - for retinal imaging


The Retinal Function Imager is a non-invasive device to diagnose eye diseases.
Gali Weinreb8 Feb 10 18:39
Sources inform "Globes" that Optical Imaging Ltd. has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its non-invasive imaging device for the early diagnosis of eye disease.
The Rehovot-based company's Retinal Function Imager (RFI) is an integrated hardware and software turnkey system, providing a unique non-invasive, ophthalmic functional imaging system with novel capabilities for seeing problems in the eye. The RFI maps the retina to the resolution of single red blood cells moving through capillaries. The RFI offers clinicians and researchers insight into the pathogenesis of retinal diseases leading to better patient care.

  

Thursday, February 4, 2010

NEWS: Imaging method for eye disease used to eye art forgeries


February 3, 2010
The oil painting on the left fluoresces to reveal hidden details (right) when exposed to a new noninvasive imaging technique that uses ultraviolet light. Credit: Waldemar Grzesik, Institute for the Study, Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Nicolaus Copernicus University
Scientists in Poland are describing how a medical imaging technique has taken on a second life in revealing forgery of an artist's signature and changes in inscriptions on paintings that are hundreds of years old. A report on the technique, called optical coherence tomography (OCT), is in ACS' Accounts of Chemical Research.

Piotr Targowski notes that easel paintings prepared according to traditional techniques consist of multiple layers. The artist, for instance, first applies a glue sizing over the canvas to ensure proper adhesion of later layers. Those layers may include an outline of the painting, the painting itself, layers of semitransparent glazes, and finally transparent varnish.
Art conservators and other experts resort to a variety of technologies to see below the surface and detect changes, including forged signatures and other alterations in a painting. But those approaches may damage artistic treasures or not be sensitive enough to detect finer details.
The scientists describe how OCT, used to produce three-dimensional images of the layers of the retina of the eye, overcomes those difficulties. They used OCT to analyze two oil paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. In one, "Saint Leonard of Porto Maurizio," OCT revealed evidence that the inscription "St. Leonard" was added approximately fifty years after completion of the painting. In the other, "Portrait of an unknown woman," OCT found evidence of the possible of forgery of the artist's signature.
More information: Structural Examination of Easel Paintings with Optical Coherence Tomography", Accounts of Chemical Research
Provided by American Chemical Society (news : web)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

"Linked in" group formed called Opt-dx

A couple people have asked me to establish a “Linked In”  Networking group based on membership of the Opt-dx yahoo group and the General Biomedical Optics email distribution (basically people with the same types of interests and content is almost identical).

I have done so; the group is called opt-dx

If you go to
http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory?trk=anet_grpdir


and search for opt-dx, the search should return a single group by that name.

Best Regards,

Tony


Anthony J. Durkin
Assistant Professor
Co-director, Wide field Functional Imaging
Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic
1002 Health Sciences Rd. East
Irvine, CA 92617

NEWS: VisEn Acquires Key Fluorescence Agent Intellectual Property Portfolio and Technology Platforms From Bayer Schering Pharma

Consolidates the Leading Intellectual Property Positions and Technologies In Fluorescence In Vivo Imaging Agents


BEDFORD, Mass., Jan 28, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced today that it has acquired the fluorescence imaging agent intellectual property portfolios and related technology platforms from Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany. The patent acquisition includes over 45 issued patents worldwide covering a wide range of fluorescence agent constructs and imaging methods, and consolidates VisEn's patent and technology leadership position in the emerging markets of fluorescence imaging from preclinical research through clinical molecular diagnostics.
"We have closely tracked the very high quality of Bayer Schering Pharma's fluorescence agent technologies and extensive patent portfolios over the last decade, and we are pleased to now integrate these platforms into VisEn's programs," said Kirtland Poss, President and CEO of VisEn Medical. "The acquisition of these assets significantly expands VisEn's patent coverage of in vivo fluorescent imaging agents, and adds to our R&D capability and pipeline of preclinical agent products and clinical imaging agents going forward."
With this acquisition, VisEn's intellectual property portfolio covering fluorescence imaging agents now includes over 150 patents and patent applications worldwide. The collective patent estate provides comprehensive coverage of a broad range of core agent components and chemistries, as well as key preclinical and clinical applications and methods. Included in the acquired portfolio are key patents covering physiologic agents, bioconjugates and targeted fluorescence agents, and certain activatable imaging agents for measurement of diverse biomarker activity in living systems. With the addition of these new platforms, VisEn plans to further expand the aggressive development of its preclinical agent product offerings, as well as its clinical imaging agent pipeline and related programs.
About VisEn Medical Inc.
VisEn's in vivo fluorescence imaging technologies, including its Fluorescence Agent Portfolio and its Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT(TM)) Imaging Systems, provide robust fluorescence molecular imaging performance in identifying, characterizing and quantifying ranges of disease biomarkers and therapeutic efficacy in vivo. VisEn's FMT systems and agents are used by leading research institutions and pharmaceutical companies worldwide in applications including oncology, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, skeletal disorders, and pulmonary disease. The Company also works with large pharmaceutical companies and clinical partners to design ranges of tailored molecular imaging agents and applications designed for their specific pre-clinical research and clinical program areas.
Additional information can be found at www.visenmedical.com.
SOURCE VisEn Medical Inc.
Copyright (C) 2010 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

JNL: Spectrophotometers for the clinical assessment of port-wine stain skin lesions: a review

http://www.springerlink.com/content/763140013g37l46r/
Journal
Lasers in Medical Science
Publisher
Springer London
ISSN
0268-8921 (Print) 1435-604X (Online)
Category
Review Article
DOI
10.1007/s10103-009-0726-8
Subject Collection
Medicine
SpringerLink Date
Wednesday, January 20, 2010






http://www.springerlink.com/images/common/spacer.gifPDF (1.8 MB)http://www.springerlink.com/images/common/spacer.gifHTML

Review Article

Spectrophotometers for the clinical assessment of port-wine stain skin lesions: a review
Tom Lister1 , Philip Wright1 and Paul Chappell2
(1) 
Wessex Specialist Laser Centre, Salisbury District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, UK, SP2 8BJ

(2) 
School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Received: 5 February 2009  Accepted: 10 August 2009  Published online: 20 January 2010
Abstract  Reflectance spectrophotometry is the most established and widely used objective technique for the assessment of port-wine stain (PWS) skin, and has been applied extensively in other dermatological applications. To date, no review has been published regarding the different spectrophotometric devices used on PWS skin. This paper comprises such a review, introducing the reader to the relevant background material and then discussing scanning, narrow-band and tristimulus spectrophotometers in turn. Scanning spectrophotometry is the most versatile of the three methods but it is noted that considerable expertise is required to interpret the acquired data. Narrow-band and tristimulus devices are available at a much lower price and can be considerably simpler to use. They do, however, provide limited information that does not account for the complex effects of melanin and other chromophores within the skin. Although scanning spectrophotometers would be the preferred choice for most investigations, cheaper, simpler and equally reliable options are available and may better suit the needs of some research projects.
Keywords  Port-wine stain - Spectroscopy - Spectrophotometry - Laser treatment - Monte Carlo simulation - Diffusion approximation




NEWS: New Technique In The Fight Against Cancer: NPL 'phantoms' will validate new technique which monitors changes in cell structures

A new technique to catch cancer early has taken an important step forward thanks to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). NPL's 'phantoms' will ensure an exciting new screening technique can be relied upon by hospitals to identify early signs of cancer.
The technique, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), is an increasingly popular method for looking beneath the surface of certain materials, notably human tissue. It is higher resolution and much quicker than techniques such as MRI or ultrasound, with no ionizing radiation, making it ideal for detecting changes in tissue structure which can indicate the early stages of cancer.
However creating such images requires high precision, and any inaccuracy can lead to incorrect assumptions about cell disruption. This can mean missing opportunities for early, potentially life-saving treatment.
A new NPL product, called a 'point-spread phantom', will eliminate the risk of such errors. The phantoms are translucent cylinders of resin containing specially arranged particles designed to reflect light in a very specific way. By viewing the phantom with an OCT machine and analyzing the image with NPL software, users can be certain the machine is producing accurate images, which they can rely on for important medical decisions.
These 'phantoms' will also allow manufacturers of OCT technology to meet the necessary standards to guarantee to hospitals that their machines are sufficiently accurate. This will help speed the route to market of products using this important new technology, and assure hospitals of their ongoing reliability.
Michelson Diagnostics is the first UK company to use NPL's phantoms to validate the accuracy of their machines. CEO John Holmes said:
"We developed breakthrough technology for imaging living tissue and for detecting diseases, but we needed to validate our performance claims, to provide customers with greater confidence in them. NPL's phantoms and analysis have enabled us to validate our claims beyond doubt, thereby demonstrating the superiority of our scanners and giving us the edge over our competitors. We expect that this validation will give OCT technology the backing it needs to become standard in hospitals around the world, and thereby make an important progression in the battle against cancer".
NPL recently completed laboratory tests and are now running trials with companies before bringing the product to market. Anyone interested in more information or trialing the new technology should contact Pete Tomlins, Senior Research Scientist in the Optical Technologies Group at the UK's National Physical Laboratory, pete.tomlins@npl.co.uk
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Image Caption:  NPL's point spread phantom allows Optical Coherence Tomography instrument manufacturers to align the optical pathways in their machines. This allows them to optimize their performance and ensure that the systems will operate within specification once they are deployed in the field. Credit: Dr Pete Tomlins, NPL
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On the Net:
Story from REDORBIT NEWS:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=1813907

Published: 2010/01/26 09:18:13 CST


Thursday, January 21, 2010

NEWS: VisEn Launches New Cat B 680 FAST(TM) Fluorescence Molecular Imaging Agent

Extends VisEn's Leading Fluorescence Molecular Imaging Agent Portfolio to Enable Expanded Readouts of Key Protease Biomarkers in Research and Drug Development


BEDFORD, Mass., Jan 20, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced today the commercial launch of its new Cat B 680 FAST(TM) imaging agent for measuring and monitoring cathepsin B activity associated with disease progression and therapeutic response in vivo.
Cathepsin B expression is well known as a key biomarker and therapeutic target in a range of diseases, including atherosclerosis, oncology, and arthritis. The new Cat B 680 FAST(TM) agent is designed to complement VisEn's existing in vivo agent product lines, providing early imaging time points and an additional reporting wavelength for more multiplexing choices in cell-based and in vivo research study designs.
"We continue to be very pleased with the rapidly expanding capability and adoption of our fluorescence agents and FMT imaging systems in measuring key biologic pathways and biomarkers in vivo," said Kirtland Poss, President and CEO of VisEn. "The new Cat B 680 FAST(TM) imaging agent is another new addition to the strong suite of VisEn agents that are becoming increasingly integrated as a standard in disease research today."
VisEn's proprietary fluorescence imaging agents and labels are designed to provide the industry's broadest and most robust range of biologically-specific imaging readouts in vivo. VisEn offers over 30 different fluorescence molecular agents for imaging key disease-associated biologic targets, processes and pathways. VisEn agent brands include ProSense(R), IntegriSense(TM), AngioSense(TM), OsteoSense(R), MMPSense(TM), Cat K FAST(TM), Annexin-Vivo(TM), and now OsteoSense(R) 800, VivoTag(R) 800 and Cat B 750 and 680 FAST(TM). VisEn also offers specialized lines of in vivo agent labeling platforms, including its proprietary VivoTag(R) fluorescence labeling dyes for custom agent development and its NanoSpark(R) labeling nanoparticles. They are all designed and optimized specifically for superior biocompatibility, brightness, stability and performance in in vivo imaging.
All VisEn agents and labels are designed for in vivo biomarker quantification using VisEn's Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT(TM)) imaging systems, or for general use along with other non-quantitative fluorescence in vivo imaging systems. VisEn agents are also designed to enable complementary in vitro biomarker readouts in cells and tissues using standard fluorescence microscopy and cellular-based imaging systems. With a focus on translational research and results, all of VisEn's technologies are designed to generate translational data linking pre-clinical research into clinical medicine.
About VisEn Medical Inc.
VisEn's in vivo fluorescence imaging technologies, including its Fluorescence Agent Portfolio and its Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT(TM)) Imaging Systems, provide robust fluorescence molecular imaging performance in identifying, characterizing and quantifying ranges of disease biomarkers and therapeutic efficacy in vivo. VisEn's FMT systems and agents are used by leading research institutions and pharmaceutical companies worldwide in applications including oncology, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, skeletal disorders, and pulmonary disease. The Company also works with large pharmaceutical and clinical partners to design ranges of tailored molecular imaging agents and applications designed for their specific pre-clinical and clinical research areas.
Additional information can be found at www.visenmedical.com.
SOURCE VisEn Medical Inc.
Copyright (C) 2010 PR Newswire. All rights reserved