Imagine trying to find a single blinking lighthouse in a dark, stormy sea; that is how this technology finds a few diseased cells deep inside a body. It uses light to 'flip a switch' on specific proteins, making them blink, and then uses ultrasound to hear that signal through thick tissue. This lets scientists see exactly what is happening inside a tumor without needing to slice the tissue open.
Current optical microscopy cannot see deep into living tissue, limiting the ability to study tumors or immune responses in vivo without destroying the sample.
A dedicated optoacoustic imaging system and two photoswitching reporters (protein-based and synthetic).
If you are a drug discovery firm dealing with the inability to track how a drug affects single cells deep within a live tumor — this project developed photoswitching optoacoustics that allows visualization at depths of several millimeters to centimeters. This enables precise monitoring of cellular dynamics in vivo.
If you are a hardware manufacturer dealing with the penetration limits of traditional optical microscopy — this project developed a new imaging system with multiplexed diode illumination and ultra-wideband transducers. This creates a tool capable of sampling volumes over 5 x 5 x 5 mm.
If you are a biotech company dealing with a lack of deep-tissue sensors for live organisms — this project developed two photoswitching reporters and synthetic molecular tools. These tools allow for the identification of specific cell functions in 3D models like organoids.
Based on available project data, the technology aspires to be an affordable imaging option for routine use in life science and bio-medical research, though specific unit pricing is not provided.
The project includes 3 SMEs and 3 industrial partners, suggesting a focus on translating the instrumentation and contrast agents into commercial products.
Based on available project data, the consortium consists of 8 partners across 5 countries, but specific licensing terms or patent owners are not listed in the summary.
The project period runs from 2022-09-01 to 2027-08-31, indicating that full development and benchmarking will continue until 2027.
The goal is to make the technology as easy and flexible to use as fluorescence microscopy, making it a routine tool for bio-medical research.
The consortium is well-balanced for commercialization, featuring a 38% industry ratio with 3 SMEs and 3 industrial partners. This mix of 8 partners across 5 countries (CH, DE, EL, FR, NL) combines academic research from 3 universities and 2 research centers with the technical agility of high-tech SMEs like Sonaxis, iThera, and Spear.
Contact Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen Deutsches Forschungszentrum fuer Gesundheit und Umwelt GmbH
Contact us to connect with the SWOPT consortium for early adoption of deep-tissue imaging tools.
