Bringing New Tools From the Lab to the Patient’s Bedside

Prof. Miller (far left) and Prof. Goh (standing) in the laser lab with graduate student, Maher Harb (second from left), and postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Alberto German Sciaini (right), going over recent data using femtosecond lasers to study molecular and solid state systems.

“Advanced instruments for studying biological systems have been essential in revolutionizing our understanding of health and disease,” says Dr. Dwayne Miller, professor of chemistry and physics at the University of Toronto and director of the Institute for Optical Sciences (IOS).

“Technologies and concepts that could push progress in biology and medicine further forward exist, right now, in the laboratories of physical scientists and engineers – but they’re far from the point where life science workers can use them.”

To shrink the time it takes between concept and reality, a traditionally slow process, Dr. Miller is launching a new $23.5 million research project, funded in part through a $7.8 million grant from the McGuinty government’s Ontario Research Fund, a program of the Ministry of Research and Innovation.

“Take nuclear magnetic resonance for instance,” explains Dr. Miller. “It’s one of the most important tools in modern science. It was described theoretically in the 1930s and experimentally demonstrated in 1946. The first magnetic resonance imaging experiment didn’t take place until 1973 and the first commercial instrument wasn’t produced until 1983. That’s a total gap of nearly five decades. That kind of delay means needless suffering.

“We aim to greatly accelerate the process of bringing new testing and treatment devices from the lab to the patient.”

Dr. Miller and his team at the IOS propose to develop highly accurate light and nanotechnology-based tools that can read the chemical composition of the cell. Using a unique combination of laser technology and molecular sensors developed at the University of Toronto, revolutionary new tools will be developed that will detect disease states at the earliest possible stage.

At the same time, Dr. Miller and his team will also be developing low-cost biosensors for home and bedside diagnostics which will mean better, faster and more affordable health care.

To ensure that the commercialization process is sped up, the team at IOS will work closely with life scientists, who are the end users of the technology, and commercialization experts who will assist in bridging the gap between the designers and the users.

One of those experts is Rocky Ganske, President of Axela Biosensors, a Toronto-based biotech company specializing in research and development of diagnostic tools. Mr. Ganske has 30 years of commercialization experience in life sciences and he’s excited by what he sees coming out of Dr. Miller’s lab.

“Health care systems everywhere are challenged by rising costs,” he says. “One way to reduce costs is to bring diagnostics to the patient, which is the goal of this project. If we’re successful it could change the dynamics of health care delivery and help position Ontario as a player in the field of diagnostics.”

It will also establish the Institute for Optical Sciences as one of a handful of world-class research centres dedicated to the science and technology of optics.