CHEN, JACOBS AND FERGUSON
ECU Inventors: Multi-Spectral Laser Imaging Methods and Systems for Blood Flow and Perfusion Imaging and Quantification
Dr. T. Bruce Ferguson, left, Dr. Cheng Chen and Dr. Kenneth Jacobs (not pictured) were issued a patent that introduces innovative technology that allows surgeons to observe blood flow during surgical procedures. (Photo courtesy of The Daily Reflector)
A trio of ECU researchers was recognized in 2018 for its advancements in medical imaging. The co-inventor team that includes Cheng Chen and Kenneth Jacobs from the Department of Physics and T. Bruce Ferguson Jr. from the Department of Engineering was issued a patent for its technology “Multi-Spectral Laser Imaging (MSLI) Methods and Systems for Blood Flow and Perfusion Imaging and Quantification.”
The team’s patent introduces innovative technology that allows surgeons to observe blood flow during surgical procedures. Currently, surgeons are restricted by visible light and are not able to see the blood supply traveling through vessels in real time. However, ECU’s researchers, with backing from real-time, non-invasive medical imaging care leader RFPi, have developed a non-invasive, minimal-risk imaging device that allows surgeons to visualize blood flow.
The technology — trademarked as iCertainty — generates images from real-time data capture and instant analysis. It is the first commercially available imaging device that shows real-time blood flow in vascular structures and critical tissues during surgeries without the use of injections, dyes, radiation, direct patient contact or surgical interruption.
The technology’s use is relevant for many medical disciplines, especially where analysis of the physiology and pathophysiology of blood flow might impact the technical decisions of the clinician and outcomes of a procedure. RFPi recently received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin marketing iCertainty for use by surgeons in open surgery.
The device is expected to provide patient benefits by improving clinical outcomes; physician benefits by enhancing the delivery of patient care; and hospital and third-party benefits by reducing the overall cost of care. The inventors believe the technology will help surgeons make fewer guesses during procedures, leading to better choices with the data iCertainty provides.