Wireless Light Switch for Targeted Cancer Therapy
- January 30, 2018
BIGHEART Principal Investigator Assistant Professor John Ho teamed up with Professor Zhang Yong to create a wireless light switch for targeted cancer therapy.
In vivo wireless photonic photodynamic therapy
Akshaya Bansal, Fengyuan Yang, Tian Xi, Yong Zhang and John S. Ho
The low penetration of light through tissue currently limits the therapeutic depth of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to less than a centimeter, even at near-infrared wavelengths. We report a wireless photonic approach to PDT in which miniaturized implantable devices deliver controlled doses of light by wireless powering through thick tissue. We demonstrate targeted cancer therapy with this approach by activating light-sensitive drugs deep in the body and suppressing tumor activity in vivo in animal models. The versatility in light delivery enabled by this approach extends the spatial and temporal precision of PDT to regions deep within the body.
