UCL will lead a £17 million surgical imaging hub to improve cancer detection and take part in a £12 million collaboration to help solve age and disability-related mobility issues, in a major funding award from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The UCL Optical and Acoustic Imaging for Surgical and Interventional Sciences (OASIS) Hub will be led by Professor Danail Stoyanov from UCL Computer Science. The hub will create new imaging capabilities in diagnostic and surgical imaging using light and sound, including low-cost, portable devices to detect the early signs of cancer by listening for soundwaves using optical tools.
Every year around 375,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK and more than 50% will undergo surgical interventions.
But the imaging tools currently used for early detection and to aid surgery cannot always distinguish important details in images.
This means that signs of cancer can be missed in surveillance and diagnosis and, in treatment, an inability to remove all cancerous tissue and a likelihood of a need for further surgery.
OASIS, which has been awarded £11 million from the EPSRC alongside £6.1 million in partner funding, aims to tackle these issues.
Work is due to begin in 2025 with partners at Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and several NHS Trusts.
Professor Stoyanov said: "New imaging methods with AI-assistance have the potential to transform our ability for early diagnosis and treatment of disease.
"The OASIS hub will advance our foundational understanding of the interaction between light, sound and tissue, and use this to pioneer new devices that help to inform clinical decision-making.
"Partnership across disciplines, institutions and industry underpins our approach and will be key to creating innovative solutions that translate into patient benefits across the NHS and beyond."
The VIVO Hub for Enhanced Independent Living will develop technology, such as robotic clothing that 'puts itself on and takes itself off', and wearable devices to prevent falls. It aims to address the needs of some of the UK's 6.7 million people with age or disability-related mobility issues.
Working with the NHS, charities, care providers and industrial partners, the healthcare technologies it develops aim to restore the independence of older people and people with disabilities by developing in-home, on-body physical assistance devices to enhance their lives.
VIVO will be led by the University of Bristol in collaboration with UCL, the University of the West of England, Imperial College London and the University of Strathclyde. It has been awarded £11 million from the EPSRC and £847,000 in partner funding.
Professor Wenhui Song, Head of the UCL Centre for Biomaterials in Surgical Reconstruction and Regeneration at the Royal Free Campus, said: "We are thrilled that this award will enable us to continue designing and synthesizing advanced smart materials and intelligent sensors.
"Those flexible, smart fibres and sensors will be integrated into robotic systems to assist independent living and enhance quality of life for our growing aging population."
VIVO will involve researchers from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, including Professor Janice Tsui, and from The Ear Institute in the Faculty of Brain Sciences, including Professor Martin Birchall.
UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: "These innovative technologies have the potential to improve patient care in the UK and around the world. By investing in this research, we are enabling scientists to develop life-changing technologies.
"By working closely with patients, healthcare professionals, engineers and industry partners, these advances can be translated into practical solutions that will improve the lives of people with age-related mobility issues, cancer, and other chronic conditions."
The new initiatives are two of five new research projects that aim to transform healthcare through the development and application of revolutionary new technologies, supported by a £118 million investment, including £54 million from the EPSRC.
EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said: "The five new hubs bring together a wealth of expertise from across academia, industry and charities to improve population health, transform disease prediction and diagnosis and accelerate the development of new interventions.
"They represent an exciting range of adventurous techniques and approaches that have great potential to improving the lives of millions of people here in the UK and across the world."
