Infectious diseases
Three infectious diseases were ranked in the top ten causes of death worldwide in 2016 by the World Health Organization. Effective diagnostic techniques are important for the identification and proper treatment of these diseases as well as control of outbreaks in the population. Bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi are responsible for these diseases. Traditionally, infectious diseases have been diagnosed using immunoassays and colorimetric tests. However, these tests are expensive and require a long time for diagnosis. Optical microscopy has both resolution to observe these microbes and the versatility to be fast and cost-effective.
In recent years, optical microscopy has received considerable attention for disease diagnosis and has opened up a whole range of understanding for the medical world to examine and gain a greater understanding of the causes and treatment of a wide range of infectious diseases. We have developed several non-invasive optical microscopic imaging systems to characterize the physical, biochemical, and dynamic properties of infections in the middle ear, skin, and oral cavity.
Ear imaging
Otitis media (or middle ear infection) is any inflammation causing the accumulation of fluid in a normally air-filled middle ear space. Otitis media is an especially common health condition for children and is a leading cause of a physicians visit and antibiotic prescription during childhood. One key diagnostic factor is to determine the presence of a fluid in the middle ear, which is difficult to visually determine using a standard otoscope. Read more...
Oral or skin imaging
The dental biofilm, or dental plaque, is the thin layer of disease-causing bacteria on the teeth. If the plaque is left untreated for a long period of time, the dental biofilms harden and may develop gingivitis and periodontitis, ultimately causing tooth decay. For the effective imaging of oral tissues, we have developed an interchangeable tip to be used with our OCT imaging system. Read more...
Imaging bacteria
To study the behaviors of bacteria in biofilms for a clinical purpose, BIL is working to develop label-free imaging techniques to observe wild type bacteria in biofilms. Bacteria biofilms can be characterized by physical, biochemical, and dynamic measures using optical imaging. Thus far, we have made significant progress characterizing middle ear infection with OCT imaging to probe the physical and dynamic properties of otitis media. Read more...