When   Thursday, May 28, 2009   Time   2:00 PM - 3:00 PM  
Where   Technological Instit M 416 2145 Sheridan Rd.   map it
Audience   - Faculty/Staff - Student - Public
Contact   Molly E Scanlon   +1 847 491 5586  
Group   McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics

RTG Colloquium

Title: Gas embolotherapy:  a vascular microbubble approach for tumor treatment

Speaker: Professor Joseph Bull, University of Michigan

Abstract: 

Embolotherapy involves the occlusion of blood flow to tumors to treat a variety of cancers, including renal carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.  The accompanying liver cirrhosis makes the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma by traditional methods difficult.  Previous attempts at embolotherapy have used solid emboli, such as blood clot, gelatin sponge, particulates, balloons and streamers.  A major difficulty in embolotherapy is restricting delivery of the emboli to the tumor, i.e. minimizing ischemia of healthy tissue, without extremely invasive procedures.  We are developing a novel minimally invasive gas embolotherapy technique that uses gas bubbles rather than solid emboli.  The bubbles originate as encapsulated liquid perfluorocarbon droplets that are small enough to pass through capillaries.  The droplets can be selectively vaporized in vivo by focused high intensity ultrasound to form gas bubbles which are then sufficiently large to lodge in the tumor vasculature.  Understanding the potential bioeffects from acoustic droplet vaporization and the mechanisms of emboli transport and lodging is essential to designing treatment strategies that achieve highly selective delivery of the gas emboli to the tumor.  Therefore, we are investigating the biofluid dynamics of microbubbles for therapy using a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches.  Our work on acoustic droplet vaporization, microbubble transport, and microbubble lodging will be discussed.

Special Note: This talk is part of the RTG Seminar Series. Please note unusual day.