Date: Apr 15, 2013 Source: MDA (
click here to go to the source)
Using optics technology funded in part by the Missile Defense Agency, researchers are working toward a more accurate, less intrusive way to biopsy tumors.
Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems, Inc. (IFOS; Santa Clara, CA), has developed a novel system that uses sensor-laden fiber optics, a gyroscope, and a needle to enable minimally invasive surgery. The company, whose sensor technology evolved with R&D support from agencies including MDA, has been working with university and government partners to test the technology in lab simulations. Unlike an MRI-based approach for targeting tumors, the new approach would give specialists an up-close, precise, and real-time view as instruments make their way to their tumor target. The IFOS method relies on a thin, flexible, sensor-bearing fiber-optic cable that, along with tiny surgical instruments, can be inserted near the point of a tumor. A physician can then visually track and maneuver the fiber-optic tool precisely to the location of a tumor. The precise navigation of the probe minimizes damage to neighboring tissue. After a tumor is located, it can be biopsied. IFOS officials anticipate their technology to be lab-tested on animals by 2015.
MDA and its predecessor, BMDO, funded IFOS through 13 Phase I and 3 Phase II contracts to develop fiber-optic sensors for various agency needs. IFOS leveraged lessons learned from these projects to find commercial applications for its technologies, including biomedicine.
Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems develops innovative fiber-optics technologies for use in aerospace, biomedicine, and oil exploration.
