Harnessing lasers for better health
Every year, millions of people suffer and die from diseases that are more treatable when detected early. Yet the tools clinicians rely on to detect cardiovascular disease, cancer and other serious conditions are often invasive or limited in what they can reveal. At Adelaide University's Institute for Photonics, Advanced Sensing and Quantum Technologies (IPAS-QT), researchers are harnessing the precision of laser technology to change that. From a world-first 3D-nano-printed intravascular imaging device designed to prevent heart attacks to technology that could one day identify disease in human breath, their innovations are bringing a new era of faster, more accurate and less invasive healthcare closer to reality.
Associate Professor Jiawen Li, an award-winning biomedical engineer and the lead of IPAS-QT’s intravascular imaging program, has invented a novel intravascular imaging device designed to prevent heart attacks and personalise cardiac care. The diagnostic tool works by helping cardiologists detect high-risk atherosclerotic plaques, prone to rupturing and causing arterial blockages, that can trigger life-threatening cardiac events.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, claiming approximately 18 million lives each year. In Australia, the disease is responsible for almost one in four deaths, and $5 billion is spent annually in public hospital treatment alone. Identifying high-risk plaques earlier can prevent many of these deaths and provide relief for the economy and the overburdened public health system.
Currently, cardiologists examine arterial plaques using structural intravascular imaging devices during procedures called percutaneous coronary interventions. According to reported studies, standard devices are only optimised to capture images of the structural compositions of plaques and are no more than 41% accurate.
Associate Professor Li’s invention addresses this limitation by also capturing important biological information with unprecedented accuracy. The laser-driven device can detect characteristics such as inflammation, bleeding, and fatty cores, allowing clinicians to better detect high-risk plaques and improve risk assessment.
“Better identification can allow doctors to predict people at greater risk, deliver more personalised treatment, and potentially prevent life-threatening events,” Associate Professor Li says.
“By visualising both structure and biology in a single device, we can provide information that is currently unavailable from standard clinical devices.”
The device’s patented multimodal lens – the first of its kind – is the key.
Measuring less than 0.3 mm in diameter and 3D-nano-printed directly onto a single optical fibre, the lens’ unique structure manipulates two low-power lasers simultaneously. One is focused into a narrow beam, penetrating deeper into the plaque to capture high-resolution structural images, while the other is angled more broadly to record biological and molecular information. The resulting light signals are sent back down the fibre to a backend system where they are projected into images for live clinical interpretation in theatre.
Because the two imaging modes have traditionally required conflicting designs, combining them in a single device without compromising performance was long considered impossible.
Through advances in 3D-nano-printing and a collaboration with the University of Stuttgart, Associate Professor Li’s team achieved this.
“We call it a lens-in-a-lens,” she says.
“Our device is able to produce sharper, higher-resolution images of plaque structures than what is currently used in the industry.
“At the same time, it is optimised to capture that important biological information, being 12 times more effective than conventional designs.”
Housed inside a medical catheter, the entire device measures just 0.9mm in diameter allowing it to safely travel through human blood vessels.
Associate Professor Li and her team have successfully tested the device on human plaque samples donated by stroke patients. Practicing cardiologists have also used it in a series of in vivo studies inside coronary arteries. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with clinicians reporting that the device integrates naturally into existing workflows while providing substantially more useful data.
Associate Professor Li is now securing ethics and governance approvals, with the first in-human trials planned for early 2027. In parallel, work is underway to bring manufacturing of the 3D-nano-printed lenses from Germany to South Australia, and an industrial design firm has been engaged to turn the proven device into a market-ready commercial product. Invented and patented in South Australia, the device will add to an Australian medical technology sector that is already worth more than $11 billion and supports 51,000 jobs across the country.
Meanwhile, Dr Sarah Scholten and Dr Chris Perrella, who are both members of IPAS-QT and Associate Investigators in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science, are using lasers to develop technology that tracks health through people’s breath. Their research could one day support a breathalyser-type device capable of detecting biomarkers linked to disease.
Such a device could provide doctors with a rapid, non-invasive method, available at the point-of-care, to determine whether further diagnostic testing or treatment is required. While also encouraging more people to visit their doctor, especially those averse to things like blood tests, the device would equip general practitioners, who already see more than 22 million Australians each year, with a means to facilitate early prevention and intervention, saving lives and keeping people out of hospitals.
Beyond carbon dioxide and nitrogen, the human breath contains a wide range of trace molecules, including carbon monoxide, methane, acetylene, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide – compounds known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). According to Dr Perrella, the identification of these VOCs would be the key function of the device.
“Looking at the specific VOCs and their quantities can tell us about the health of the body. Some have been linked to cancers, heart disease, and diabetes,” he says.
“In this way, they act as biomarkers or chemical fingerprints for a range of conditions.”
To identify these VOCs, the research team is using a specialised laser called an optical frequency comb, an invention which won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2005.
Where a conventional laser emits a single, precise colour or frequency of light, an optical frequency comb generates millions simultaneously. These frequencies are perfectly, evenly spaced, and resemble the teeth of a comb when viewed together. Because these intervals are constant, they function as an ultra-precise ruler – one capable of measuring light particles with incredible precision.
When the comb passes through a breath sample, each VOC behaves differently, absorbing some frequencies while letting others pass through unaffected. The unabsorbed light is separated by a high-resolution spectrometer and finally captured by a camera. By analysing the resulting spectrum, researchers can spot where the specific frequencies or ‘teeth’ have been dimmed or blanked out by target molecules. This distinct fingerprint allows them to identify and quantify the exact VOCs present and in real-time.
Existing methods of detection are slower, such as utilising a tuneable laser to examine one frequency and molecule at a time, making them impractical for the type of device that Dr Scholten has in mind.
“The challenge is that in a very complex sample, like the human breath, you need to look at lots of frequencies simultaneously to be able to differentiate between molecules in real-time,” she says.
“And that’s where the optical frequency comb is optimal for our device.”
The team has already demonstrated the technique by measuring carbon dioxide produced by yeast during fermentation in real-time. They have also applied machine learning to their traditionally processed data, establishing that it can effectively streamline the backend work required to analyse VOC quantities.
A clinical device will require more technological and scientific advancement, and the team has already identified their next steps. To detect VOCs at smaller concentrations, they want to use more sensitive equipment and utilise machine learning to speed up their data processing.
“We know, concretely, where we need to go to progress. And we’re very excited for what’s next,” Dr Scholten says.
These innovations may have begun in South Australian laboratories, but their potential impact extends far beyond the State. With one technology moving towards human trials and another laying the foundations for a new generation of diagnostic tools, Adelaide University researchers are translating world-class photonics research into healthcare solutions that could improve lives, strengthen Australia's medical technology sector and reinforce the State's reputation as a centre for innovation.
This content was provided by Adelaide University. The editorial staff of The Chronicle had no role in its preparation. Find out more about paid content.
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