AngioDynamics honouring young investigators with innovative medical technologies
The biannual AngioDynamics International LIFE Symposium gathers international medical professionals, researchers, and innovators to present and discuss innovative technologies in health care. Each Symposium offers the Young Investigator’s Poster Award which honours young clinical professionals and their research that shapes the future of health care. The 9th AngioDynamics International LIFE Symposium’s Young Investigator’s Poster Award called for innovative technologies that cover a to-date unmet need in medical care. The chosen finalists got the opportunity to present their research in front of a multidisciplinary audience and gather expert feedback. The first place was endowed with 5000 €.
Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography is a promising technology to guide lower extremity revascularization
Birte Winther presented a proof-of-concept study that she conducted together with Tim Wittig and the Steiner lab at HI-MAG and the University of Leipzig Medical Center. They showed that Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT), a high-resolution imaging technology, may be utilized to assess lower limb tissue perfusion after treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and therefore could be a promising non-invasive modality to guide PAD treatment and enhance treatment outcomes.
PAD describes the narrowing of arteries and reduction of blood flow typically in the lower limbs and is recognized as a major contributor to atherosclerotic cardiovascular morbidity. More than 230 million people worldwide are affected by PAD. Endovascular therapy (EVT) has become one of the preferred revascularization strategies to improve symptoms and achieve limb salvage in patients with PAD. However, amputation rates remain high partly due to the underuse of angiography and revascularization techniques, highlighting the importance of non-invasive diagnostic tools to guide revascularization.
Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography can fill an unmet need in medical care
Other technologies used in this area only allow imaging within a range of a few mm up to 1.5 cm and thus only assess perfusion in epidermis and dermis. In contrast, MSOT imaging depth is up to 4 cm allowing assessment of perfusion and oxygenation status in deeper tissues layers, including muscle tissue. MSOT is already used to quantify soft tissue composition in conditions such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, or neuromuscular disease. With their work, the Steiner lab now provides a new scope of application for MSOT which fills an unmet medical need in the treatment of PAD and is a promising tool to further improve treatment outcomes.