In vivo imaging provides a non-invasive insight into living organisms, allowing researchers to gain insight into disease related changes in the body. In vivo imaging has also become a critical component of drug development and medical practice. We use a range of imaging techniques to analyse lungs, eyes and other organs in human volunteers.
To obtain more detailed information about airway remodelling in asthma, we have extended our bronchoscopy capabilities through use of endobronchial ultrasound which allows us to compare airway wall thickness in volunteers without or with asthma. This allows us to correlate physiological readouts of lung function with airway wall characteristics in vivo. We can also study alterations in the alveoli (emphysema) in volunteers with COPD using an Alveoscope (Cell-Vizio system). This system utilizes a 1mm fibreoptic miniprobe introduced into the working channel of a bronchoscope allowing assessment of elastin fibres in the alveolar walls and visualization of alveolar macrophages.
Our NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit (link to RBRU) also facilitates strong links with the Southampton Aerosol Group led by Professor John Fleming (Department of Medical Physics) and Professor Joy Conway (Health Sciences). The group uses multi-modality imaging techniques such as single photon computed tomography (SPECT) and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and has developed cutting edge methods to quantify lung deposition of inhaled drugs and create 3-D images of the bronchi and lung parenchyma. Techniques such as SPECT, CT and 3-D ventilation imaging are also being investigated for use as tools for improving the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases including cystic fibrosis and PCD.
Anterior segment imaging is a rapidly advancing field in ophthalmology. We are using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS OCT) to supplement the more established imaging devices of Orbscan scanning slit topography and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). AS-OCT provides quantitative and qualitative information on the cornea and anterior chamber and is being used in the evaluation of corneal diseases such infective keratitis.