BRITElab

During breast surgery, the surgeon is guided by the sense of touch and sight to determine if the tumour has been entirely removed. Not surprisingly, the lack of sophisticated imaging tools during surgery results in 20-30% of patients requiring a second surgery. The goal of this project is to develop a handheld micro-elastography probe to enable the surgeon to visualise tumour at high resolution during surgery, thus enabling them to more effectively remove surgery. If successful, this technology will reduce the number of additional surgeries required.

The optical techniques used and developed by BRITElab acquire images based on the optical and mechanical properties of fresh tissue. These images contain sufficient information to distinguish between many different tissue types and properties. However, the images are often complex, and difficult to interpret for an untrained observer. The aim of this project will be to develop automated segmentation algorithms capable of classifying the various tissues (such as fat, benign connective tissue, or cancer) found in our scans, in order to real-time provide guidance to surgeons.

The optical systems used at BRITElab are able to acquire data in near real-time. However, converting this data into useable images requires software processing that takes considerably more time. Graphics processing units (GPUs) have shown promise for accelerating many software tasks. The aim of this project will be to design and implement a GPU-accelerated C++ architecture for real-time processing of BRITElab imaging data.

The aim of this project is to provide technology to improve eye care in remote locations. The project is part of an ongoing collaboration between BRITElab and the Lion’s Eye Institute. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is the clinical standard for diagnosing retinal disease, such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. OCT systems are typically bulky and not very portable, restricting use in remote locations. In this project, you will be part of a team developing a compact version of OCT that will fit within a standard backpack, thus enabling deployment of OCT in remote locations.