CAREER: Smart and scalable approaches for developing multimodal optical and acoustic imaging technologies

In vivo imaging is an integral part of basic life science research and also plays a critical role in diagnosis of several diseases in clinic. Unlike in vitro diagnostics, in vivo imaging is non-destructive and repeatable, but typically provides information about one or two biological parameters at a given time. Study or detection of complex diseases in a living subject requires information about anatomical, functional (e.g., oxygen saturation), and molecular biomarkers. Therefore, multimodal imaging methods combining conventional imaging techniques - such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Position Emission Tomography and X-Ray Computer Tomography - have gained clinical importance. However, these multimodal technologies are expensive and not suitable for point-of-care (POC) imaging applications. This CAREER project will develop and integrate optical, ultrasound and photoacoustic technologies and demonstrate reliable multimodal POC imaging. The educational outreach activities will prepare female and underrepresented K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students for next generation biomedical imaging device innovation. The overarching goal of this proposal is to build an integrated research, education and outreach program centered on the science and engineering of next generation smart, affordable, portable, and non-ionizing, multimodal imaging and sensing devices. The research objective is to develop a novel multimodal optical, photoacoustic, and ultrasound imaging platform built at the interface of transparent ultrasound transducer technology, model-based data science tools and artificial intelligence. The platform will be validated for studying neural activity in brain cancer models. The educational objective is to prepare STEM leaders (at K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels) for advancing innovations in smart biomedical imaging and sensing devices through focused seminars and workshops for teachers, live demo of portable ultrasound imaging and inexpensive ultrasound bioreactor for cell stimulation, and new teaching materials at the intersection of multimodal sensing and AI. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.