Erwin Alles

Dr. Erwin Alles, (University College London)

Dr Erwin Alles received his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. After brief spells at first Michigan State University and then the Institute of Cancer Research, in 2014 he moved to UCL where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering and the UCL Hawkes Institute. He leads the Multimodal Interventional Sensing and Imaging (MISI) team. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/hawkes-institute/research/research-groups/multimodal-interventional-sensing-and-imaging-misi who use light and sound to provide image guidance in interventional and multimodal surgical settings, with applications spanning cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurosurgery scenarios.

Illuminating Sound: Optical Ultrasound for Biomedical Imaging

Ultrasound imaging is a mature medical imaging technology achieving real-time, video-rate imaging at depths of up to tens of cm and good soft-tissue contrast, at modest cost and without introducing ionising radiation. Conventional ultrasound imaging probes utilise electronic transducer elements that require electrical connections and driving electronics, which are difficult and costly to miniaturise to dimensions suitable for interventional applications. In addition, electronic transducers cause, or are susceptible to, interference with strong electromagnetic fields, such as encountered within MRI or CT scanners or during radiotherapy. Over the past decade, an optical ultrasound imaging modality has been developed that utilises pulsed light delivered to optically absorbing coatings to generate acoustic waves at the surface of a transducer via the photoacoustic effect, and pulse-echo signals are subsequently received by optically resonant structures. During this talk, I will provide an overview of the achievements, applications, and challenges of optical ultrasound generated by my team, in applications ranging from interventional image guidance to multimodal imaging to novel detector technologies.

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