Ultrasonic imaging provides essential in-vivo anatomical and functional information that can be used in cancer medicine for early detection, differential diagnosis, staging, biopsy guidance, treatment planning, treatment guidance, and the assessment of response to treatment. In combination with appropriate injectable agents, diagnostic ultrasound may also enhance the delivery of drugs and other therapeutics to tumours, thus increasing their effectiveness and minimising treatment side effects.
Our team’s work aims to enhance these functions by inventing, developing and applying new ways of deriving information from ultrasound signals and utilising ultrasound waves to assist cancer treatment. Optical methods complement ultrasound, with considerable potential for adding new information to that provided by ultrasound as, for example, in the multiphysics imaging method of photoacoustic imaging.
Our research is strongly translational, from basic physics and technical development, through preclinical studies to clinical evaluation. It supports various fields of application, including:
- Breast and breast cancer assessment
- Skin-cancer diagnosis
- Assessment of side-effects of breast-cancer treatment
- Image guidance of treatment (focused-ultrasound, radiotherapy, and surgical resection)
- Prostate-cancer assessment
- The biology of tumour vascularisation and invasion
- Characterisation of tumour phenotype
- Assessment of tumour response.
The team also provides scientific and technical support for activities in the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. These include assisting with clinical ultrasound research of the Trust, advice to clinical personnel on specific aspects of the safe and effective use of ultrasound, and aiding the purchase of, acceptance testing, quality assurance, acoustic safety testing and first line maintenance of clinical ultrasound equipment.