Recipients of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Awards
Xueding Wang, Ph.D.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
2005 Sontag Foundation Fellowship of the Arthritis National Research Foundation
Grant Award: $50,000
-- Dr. Xueding Wang
About Dr. Wang's Research:
Photoacoustic Tomography of Inflammatory Arthritis
Inflammatory joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are debilitating and costly illnesses. Recent advances in joint imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography, have significantly enhanced the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. However, early diagnosis, identification of initial natural disease sequelae and progression, along with both non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical-based intervention monitoring, still present significant challenges.
The objective of this proposed research is to develop a novel, non-ionizing, non-invasive, laser-based technology-photoacoustic tomography (PAT)-to image structural and functional changes in inflammatory joint diseases. In comparison with traditional optical imaging, the spatial resolution of PAT is not limited by the overwhelming scattering of light. Rather, PAT can image tissue structures and functional changes with high resolution, potentially allowing the imaging of the small joint structures of the hands and feet accurately. Optical signal, employed in PAT to generate ultrasonic waves in biological tissues, is sensitive to molecular conformations of biological structures including the oxygenation state of hemoglobin, as well as angiogenesis; both are known to have central pathologic roles in inflammatory arthritis. Based on these characteristics along with high intrinsic optical contrast of joint tissues, PAT may provide a unique opportunity to enable early diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic interventions in inflammatory arthritis with high sensitivity and specificity.
Although the proposed design will be validated on animal joints first, our ultimate goal is to develop an imaging technology for human joints (initially fingers) that is routinely available, cost-effective, reliable, and both patient- and operator-friendly.
