Villanova Engineering Researcher to Contribute to Development of Single Point-of-Care Medical Imaging Device

Prolific researcher Dr. Meltem Izzetoglu, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded $209,000 as part of a $1.9 million grant for a collaborative two-year project titled "Portable Diffuse Optical Sensors for Point-of-Care Monitoring in Prolonged Field Care." Funded by the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, Dr. Izzetoglu will partner with Drexel University (lead), Hebrew University, and Infrascan Inc., a medical technology manufacturer, to integrate two modalities—namely diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)—into a single (DCS-NIRS) point-of-care medical imaging device, enabling multiple capabilities to identify and monitor injury in prolonged field care.

The proposed portable system will be designed to integrate several screening, diagnosis and monitoring functions into a single ruggedized system capable of simultaneously monitoring multiple brain and body vital signs to help identify and monitor medical management of injuries and exposures. Multiple capabilities to identify and monitor injury in prolonged field care include:

• Cerebral and somatic oximetry monitoring (en-route care of hypoxia, anoxia, hemorrhagic shock)
• Cerebral and somatic blood flow and blood volume monitoring (hemorrhage, hemorrhagic shock)
• Cerebral edema monitoring (traumatic or hypoxic-ischemic brain injury)

The feasibility and validation of the designed and developed prototype will be evaluated using laboratory models (phantoms) and animal tests (piglets and adult pigs) with hemorrhagic shock and hypoxic-ischemic injury models.

An expert in brain imaging for cognitive activity and physiological monitoring using optical methods, Dr. Izzetoglu will oversee Villanova’s project tasks and advise a PhD student on the project. Specifically, she will be responsible for:

• Laboratory and animal model test protocol design
• Algorithm development
• Analysis and evaluation of the outcomes for cerebral and body oximetry
• Cerebral edema monitoring
• Hemorrhage assessment and hematoma detection using the proposed system

Finally, Dr. Izzetoglu will prepare the corresponding reports and publications.

Learn more about Dr. Izzetoglu’s current research in this profile piece from Villanova Engineer’s spring 2020 issue.