Thermographic endoscopic system for gastro intestinal tract imaging

• Applicant: Gargi Sharma, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology ; Gastroenterology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 466533351

Temperature plays critical role in several biological processes including inflammation. In past temperature has been linked to phenomenon such as systemic inflammation, immune response regulation, metabolism, wound healing etc. Although temperaturemediated processes have been studied by several researchers, such studies have been limited to outside the body measurements i.e. skin, ex-vivo or in-vitro. Unfortunately there exists no technique which can generate temperature map of various organs inside the body with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. In this research proposal I would like to develop an endoscopic device capable of generating thermographic images of gastro intestinal tract with 10 micron spatial resolution at video rate. Such images will be helpful in diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Specific aims of this project are:1. Develop an IR detector based microscope for characterization and optimization of infrared fiber and detector2. Develop a rotating catheter-based thermal imaging device that can produce circumferential images of the GI tract lumen with a pullback mechanism. 3. Test the developed device for mouse colitis model

• DFG Programme: Research Grants