OncoThAI has already initiated several clinical studies carried out at the University Hospital of Lille. They aim to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of photodynamic therapy in the management of various neoplastic pathologies.
Light is an essential element for the setup of photodynamic therapy, and validation of the illumination modalities required for its application in human clinical application remains one of the major axes of the research program of unit OncoThAI.
The combination of electronics and computer science with precision optics allows to characterize the light performances (power, wavelength, spatial profile) of laser devices developed in the laboratory.
For each device developed, the homogeneity and the illumination efficiency are determined in a standard situation, on the optical benches of the laboratory, based on the principles of metrology. For each medical application, the light emitting device is applied to a physical model of cavity (thoracic, or cerebral for example) or superficial (skin, mucous membranes). These models make possible to map the light delivered by the device and to check the maintenance of its optical performance during the application.
