Fast optoacoustic mesoscopy, using the skin as a window for therapeutic monitoring of local and systemic disease.

Project Information

WINTHER

Grant agreement ID: 871763

DOI

10.3030/871763

Project closed

EC signature date 5 December 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 December 2024

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 5 111 203,75

EU contribution

€ 4 292 170,00

Coordinated by

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - WINTHER (Fast optoacoustic mesoscopy, using the skin as a window for therapeutic monitoring of local and systemic disease.)

Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2024-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Raster-scan optoacoustic mesoscopy (RSOM), which was developed under the EU Horizon 2020 project INNODERM, enables novel label-free, high-resolution optical imaging of previously invisible pathophysiological features at skin depths of 1-5 mm. The method has already shown great potential in diagnostic dermatology, and through preliminary testing it has become apparent that it can also assess progression and therapy of conditions not only in skin, but also in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. However, the latter requires improvements in the speed of RSOM, which is where WINTHER begins.

The aim of WINTHER is to design and validate the next generation of RSOM, capable of operating at speeds up to two orders of magnitude faster. Such improvements will allow the new system, fast-RSOM (F-RSOM), to serve as a precision tool for therapy monitoring of inflammatory skin diseases and drive a paradigm shift in therapeutic monitoring of cardio-metabolic diseases.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the WINTHER project, both technical and scientific achievements have been made. Specifically, the:

(1) Design, manufacture and validation of a new class of single-element transducers. Partner Sonaxis has led the way in this task, developing and testing (with help from TUM and iThera) several new iterations of single-element transducers with the best-performing having been selected and integrated into the prototype.
(2) Design, characterization, and implementation of an optimal illumination scheme for improved illumination efficiency. Partners Sonaxis, TUM and iTHERA were involved in this effort, by simulating and testing several illumination schemes.
(3) Design, testing and finalization of the F-RSOM encapsulated handheld prototype and software (including quality control and the investigation of information processing systems and computational efficiency to bridge the gap between information generation and clinical outputs by partners Rayfos, iThera and TUM), ensuring that all design and operation protocols adhere to safety and regulatory standards.
(4) Development of algortihms and deep-learning pipelines by partner TUM for accurate feature extraction and identification of relevant biomarkers for treatment monitoring in diseases such as melonoma.
(5) Pre-clinical and clinical validation and testing in vivo of the F-RSOM for cardiometabolic and dermatologic disease therapy monitoring by partners HUNIMED and TUM.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The WINTHER F-RSOM prototype improves the capabilities of the previous RSOM device to include fast measurements for assessing and monitoring of skin inflammation and cardio-metabolic diseases. The far-reaching impact of WINTHER, then, is to provide a long-term comprehensive platform for monitoring and diagnosing disease and therapy progress in a portable, non-invasive, inexpensive, label-free, fast and safe way. The ambitions of the project are aligned with the documented unmet clinical need and international physician recommendations.
The major technological advances have been the development of state-of-the-art transducers, the design of a novel new ergonomic, portable scanner for non-invasive imaging and the construction of a new clinically-friendly software that enables high-quality optoacoustic imaging. In addition, new algorithms and deep learning methods have been implemented to identify new biomarkers from imaging feature extraction.
Going beyond current clinical designs on the market, the expected impact of the F-RSOM technology is to improve on cost, effectiveness and availability of therapeutic monitoring for dermatological and cardiovascular diseases, as well as diabetes. As such, the socio-economic impact of WINTHER could be substantial, as it can provide the first reliable set of parameters that facilitate proper diagnosis, monitoring and optimal treatment early on, which will benefit the healthcare system as a whole.

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