###Cancer Imaging and Therapy: Image-Guided Cancer Therapy Using a Magnetic Resonance Imaging System
Project ID: 2228bd1036 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Healthcare Technologies
UCL Lead department: Division of Medicine
Lead Supervisor: Mark Lythgoe
Project Summary:
This PhD offers an exciting opportunity to join a team of leading UCL imaging scientists (Mark Lythgoe), cancer clinicians (Mark Emberton) and physicists (Quentin Pankhurst) with an international track record in minimally invasive cancer treatments, to develop the next generation of theranostic MRI.
MINIMA has the potential to combine diagnosis and therapy into a single MRI theranostic device, enabling both localization and treatment on the same platform.
Minimally invasive image-guided ablation (MINIMA) is a novel thermal ablation therapy for the treatment of tumours, whereby an untethered ferromagnetic thermoseed is steered through tissue to a target site within the body, using the magnetic field gradients generated by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. Once at the tumour, the thermoseed is heated remotely using an alternating magnetic field, to induce cell death in the surrounding cancer tissue. Minimally invasive therapies aim to deliver effective treatment whilst reducing off-target burden, limiting side effects, and shortening patient recovery times.
The aim of this PhD project is to develop MINIMA through a series of studies and to assess the efficacy of the three key project components: imaging, navigation, and heating in a preclinical and clinical MRI system. The studentship will cover: 1) Development of MR imaging sequences to fast-track the thermoseeds during navigation; 2) Navigating the thermoseed through a tumour tissue using different MRI parameters and; 3) Development of a novel thermoseed heating coil to induce cancer cell death on a clinical MRI system.
The studentship is based in the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, a world leading Imaging Centre, and would suit an individual from a background in the physical, chemical or biological sciences with an interest in developing advanced imaging technology to treat cancers.
Vision: To develop a novel MRI theranostic platform, creating a completely new class of imaging/therapy.