Supervisor

My supervisor for this project is Dr James Warren from the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. 

Overview 

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) imaging is essential for visualising joint structures in detail and supporting tailored interventions. This project will conduct a comprehensive investigation of both current and previously utilised clinical contrast agents in CE-CT imaging. This will optimise contrast agent selection to improve imaging precision, enhancing treatment planning and revealing soft tissue health more effectively. 

Project Background

In the UK, nearly 20% of the population suffers from chronic musculoskeletal disorders, including persistent joint and back pain. While joint replacement surgeries are often successful, they are increasingly challenged by the growing number of younger, active patients who require treatment for joint issues arising from trauma, obesity, and lifestyle factors. Soft tissue degeneration is a major cause of joint and back pain. New surgical techniques aim to repair or replace these tissues locally, delaying or avoiding full joint replacements.

However, identifying which patients would benefit most from these procedures remains a challenge, making it crucial to define patient profiles for targeted treatments. Improving preclinical testing and clinical imaging for joint treatments would help identify patients, particularly younger individuals with early joint degeneration, who could benefit from tissue-repair techniques. This would refine patient selection, enabling more targeted interventions that delay or prevent joint replacements, optimizing outcomes, and reducing reliance on traditional surgeries. The wider research aims to improve preclinical testing through understanding the damage different interventions can do to healthy tissue in patients on different scales.

Objectives and Methodology

The objective is to collate and map the various contrast agents employed by clinicians and research groups across the field. By systematically reviewing and categorising these agents, the project will focus on their specific interactions with tissues and their effectiveness for microscale imaging. These research outputs will contribute directly to the creation of more detailed patient profiles, enabling clinicians to customise interventions based on each patient’s unique joint anatomy and condition. This enhanced imaging insight will facilitate more accurate patient-treatment matching and support the development of personalised, less invasive musculoskeletal treatment strategies. These strategies could help delay or even prevent the need for full joint replacements, improving overall patient outcomes and quality of life.

The planned research impact will be establishing a more up to date database of current and past contrast agents, both clinical and research specific, to better aid in more rapid innovation and translation of research from the lab to a clinical setting. The final objective of this project is to produce a clinically orientated review paper as the first author.