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BioNano and Medical Photonics

Fundamental and applied research in biology and medicine constitute keystones in our race towards improving health and well-being in our society, requiring a joint effort from different disciplines in science. New discoveries, ultimately targeted to solving healthcare problems, will continue to rely on the convergence of biology, physics, photonics, engineering, nanotechnology, advanced materials, biomedical sciences and medicine.

Photonics technologies play an immense role in medical diagnostic tools and their impact is rising exponentially. Multidisciplinary and intersectoral large scale activities are needed to translate benchtop technologies to clinical testing and finally to clinical use. Along the mainstream clinical usage, wellness monitoring is finding itself an increasing role to contribute to deal with rising societal problems such as aging and photonics technologies are revolutionizing the field.

Activities

ICFO activities in this area range from fundamental research in understanding of biological function to the development of technologies for clinical use in daily practice. They cover the development of unique tools, their testing, their utilization and even their exploitation. Along these lines, ICFO is at the forefront of research by conducting activities in strong collaboration with international experts in the fields of cell biology, immunology, neurology and oncology amongst others. Many of our projects are also in collaboration with biomedical centers, (inter)national medical research hospitals and local clinicians in the Barcelona area

Super-resolution microscopy development

Continuous development of cutting-edge optical microscopy and super-resolution technologies that enable the study of biological processes at the single molecular level with high temporal resolution. Some of these techniques exploit novel concepts for label-free imaging and/or operate in a multimodal imaging fashion. All combined, these methodologies enable the investigation of biological processes at the most fundamental level with unprecedented levels of detail and sensitivity.

 

Functional microscopy

Unraveling the interplay between structure, material properties and function is a leading challenge in physical biology and biomedicine. Novel, multimodal devices based on optical tweezers, laser nanosurgery or optogenetic tools to manipulate cellular states within living biosystems are deployed to understand how embryos develop or neurons network.

Diffuse optical technologies for clinical and biomedical use tomography

Develop  and test technologies using tissue-light interactions in patients at hospitals to impact clinical care, diagnostics and therapy. Develop physical models of photon propagation and interactions in tissues, utilize tissue simulating phantoms to test the concepts, introduce algorithms for data analysis and interpretation and carry out both pilot and large-scale clinical studies. Interdisciplinary and intersectoral efforts join expertise in physics, engineering, biology, biomedicine and clinical practice.

Ultra-sensitive biosensing

Exploit nanophotonic concepts to develop next generation, ultra-sensitive biosensing devices to detect individual biomolecules in the physiological regime in a high-throughput manner and for a broad range of in-vitro applications. Research into nanoantennas for deeper fundamental understanding of cell biology. Nanoparticle research could yield novel cancer therapies. Combining photonics, microfluidics and signal processing for the validation of biosensing devices and filtration in the field of waterborne microorganism detection.

Open questions in biology

Develop technology enabling study of fundamental biological processes previously inaccessible, like how spatiotemporal compartmentalization of biomolecules inside cells regulates and controls cell function, the role of cell mechanical properties for health and disease on the molecular and systems level, how cells sense and respond to mechanical stimuli. Interdisciplinary research combines experiments with rigorous data analysis, include machine learning and novel theoretical models to make testable predictions.

 

Biomedical and Clinical collaborations

oint endeavors between clinicians, biologists and photonic scientists in the fields of neurology and neurosurgery, neonatal care, ophthalmology, oncology, intensive care monitoring, dermatology, rapid clinical analysis, rehabilitation, sports medicine, wellbeing, sleep disorders, anesthesiology and others, help align medical technologies with the needs of citizens and society.   We seek both local and international clinical trials, collaborations and focus on translational research and development.

Partnerships and Highlighted Projects