Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering (Research Division)

The department of Biomedical Engineering is a new department which is being established within the division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering to provide cutting-edge engineering research and teaching to augments and enhance the existing international reputation of the division.

Specialist areas in the department will include:

• Multi-scale and Multi-physics Computational modelling
• Systems biology, simulation of cell signalling and regulation
• High performance computation and visualisation for biomedical applications
• Bioinstrumentation and device development
• Numerical Analysis and parameter estimation
• MRI, CT, X-ray, Ultrasound, PET and SPECT Image Acquisition, Reconstruction and Processing.

The main objective of the Department is to pursue high quality, multidisciplinary research internationally. There is a close and vital relationship in our work between problem solving in clinical and biomedical application areas and methodological research in biomedical engineering technologies and information processing.

Molecular imaging techniques are maturing rapidly. The development of probes that can examine cellular and molecular processes in vivo, and the shift of emphasis to translational and experimental medicine have led to massive interest in molecular imaging. New tracers and techniques are being developed for monitoring gene expression, stem cell tracking, cell signaling pathways etc. with applications across all medical specialties. PET is the key imaging modality for performing molecular imaging studies in man and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. However, advanced MRI techniques including dynamic contrast enhanced MRI, diffusion weighted MRI and MR spectroscopy, as well as optical imaging, dynamic contrast enhanced CT and US, and potential for combining different modalities are now under investigation. The use of PET imaging techniques to validate other modalities will see an increased, dual, use of radionuclide imaging and MR, CT, fluorescent and US imaging. The department of Cancer imaging is currently exploring all of these methods to ensure optimum techniques are used both for research and application to clinical practice.

PET, nuclear medicine and radiology have always had close links with a range of users and research has been tied to clinical practice. This enables rapid translation of research into clinical practice. High platform PET, MRI and CT are now finding a role in disease response assessment. The link with the Cancer Imaging Centre across KCL and UCL has provided a large range of basic science information to increase the number of imaging tracers and development of applications and linkage with biological biomarkers and exploration of the link to cell pathways. There is also a strong methodology development programme looking at hybrid imaging with a particular emphasis on PET MRI combined imaging.

Radionuclide therapy is integrated within cancer imaging to support the development of targeted cancer treatment using radioactive isotopes. This approach is currently used to treat several different tumour types. Imaging plays a critical role in identifying appropriate patients for treatment, optimising therapeutic regimens and assessing response. The development of new targeted radionuclide treatments relies upon the discovery and characterisation of imaging tracers that can then be adapted for therapeutic use. Multi-modality imaging will underpin pre-clinical research programmes to explore the potential of different radiolabelled drug combinations and will direct subsequent clinical trial design. Other treatment options including radio embolization and high frequency ultrasound have also developed as the result of close cross-specialty collaboration within the cancer imaging sciences,

The group also incorporates a large service provision ensuring the linkage between service and research is close to enable science to be moved rapidly into the clinic. There are also opportunities to examine and re-examine current practice and imaging pathways for a variety of cancers to identify evidence based research and to integrate health economics analysis in our research to ensure cost effective approaches to patient management.

The Department of Cardiovascular Imaging is the most clinical Department in the Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering. Our main goals are:

• Delivery of a state of the art clinical service
• Translation of novel technical developments into clinical applications
• Validation, optimization and development of novel imaging techniques.

Our main interest is oriented towards cardiovascular disease mainly in the areas of myocardial ischaemia (coronary artery disease, heart attack), heart failure, electrophysiology and device therapy, vascular disease, especially aortic disease and heart disease in children and grown-ups with congenital defects.

Our research spans from preclinical and phantom work to large multicenter trials with the goal to support or change current guidelines.

Research in the Department of Imaging Chemistry and Biology is focussed on:

• Identification of novel molecular imaging targets in all biomedical areas (cancer, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, neurological, immunological) and development and evaluation of new molecular imaging agents for these applications.
• Novel chemical approaches to facilitate the development of novel contrast agents with simpler methodology, higher quality and wider availability for patients.

The Departmental research teams cover basic organic, inorganic and nanoparticle chemistry and biology at the biomolecular, cellular and whole organism (preclinical and clinical) level. Research groups work together in a highly integrated way with a strong team ethos and boundaries between the research groups are extremely blurred. In this way we make exceptionally efficient use of our physical infrastructure, laboratory space and varied academic expertise. The Department is outstandingly well equipped with chemistry, radiochemistry, chemical and biochemical analysis (ES-MS, high field NMR, HPLC etc.), tissue culture and preclinical imaging facilities (PET/CT, SPECT/CT, 9.4 T MRI), with strong links to the PET Centre (with cyclotron and hot cell facilities and providing radioisotopes such as F-18, C-11, Cu-64, Cu-61, N-13, Ga-68 etc.) and Nuclear Medicine (providing access to isotopes such as Tc-99m, Ga-68 etc).

The Department interacts closely with other departments in the Division to optimise imaging capability and translate new science into clinical application.

The Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health is a new department within the Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at King's College London.

Our goal is to reduce the number of children who suffer brain damage in the perinatal period through:

• improved understanding of the biology of cerebral injury and developmental disorders;
• better brain imaging particularly in utero and in the neonatal period; and
• clinical trials of novel therapies neuroprotective therapies.

 

We have established a new dedicated MR imaging suite in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at St Thomas' Hospital, and we run a strongly collaborative approach working with colleagues around the world, particularly within The Centre for the Developing Brain which acts as a focal point to develop contacts and opportunities for research with industry, academia and research funders.