Lumen Winter 2016 - Flipbook - Page 6
story by Ian Williams
Spotlight on IPAS
Light is all around us
and most of us take it for
granted. But scientists at
the Institute for Photonics
and Advanced Sensing
(IPAS) view it di昀昀erently.
For them it’s a powerful tool and
they are harnessing that power to
make the world a safer, healthier
and wealthier place.
Researchers from numerous
disciplines are working with industry
and government to build unique,
ultra-sensitive sensors to provide
practical solutions across multiple
fields. Here are some of their projects.
www.adelaide.edu.au/ipas
4 Lumen | Winter 2016
Surgery probe cuts cancer trauma
A
n optical fibre probe being
developed by IPAS should improve
the accuracy of breast cancer
surgery and reduce the trauma for patients.
Currently there is no reliable technique for
assessing if tissue is healthy or cancerous
during surgery, with many patients forced
to endure a follow-up operation to remove
tumour tissue that was missed.
“We’re working on an optical fibre probe
that can be used by the surgeon during
the initial surgery for an instant assessment
of whether the tissue is cancerous or not,”
said Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Erik
Schartner. “The tip of the probe simply
has to be placed against an unknown
area to receive a reading.”
“We’re hoping this will find broad use
by surgeons and reduce the worry and
trauma to patients who may have to face
additional surgeries due to the limitations
of existing medical devices.”
