• GUEST: Vasilis Ntziachristos

🎧 Tune in for a dynamic discussion on how the interplay of light and sound is revolutionizing our understanding of disease.

🎙️ Welcome to Episode 15 of “Dive into Imaging Science”!
In this edition, we’re delighted to introduce: none other than Vasilis Ntziachristos as our guest!

Vasilis is a distinguished leader in the field of optical and optoacoustic imaging, renowned for his pioneering work in fluorescence molecular tomography, fluorescence-guided surgery, and optoacoustic mesoscopy. But his career didn’t begin there. In this episode, we learn how a shift from physics to engineering – and from NMR to optical imaging – was sparked by the influence of key mentors in the field.

With his characteristic charm and charisma, Vasilis reflects on the importance of surrounding oneself with those who challenge boundaries and reimagine what’s possible – an ethos that has defined his own scientific journey..

🎯 Staying close to home, this episode explores how optoacoustic mesoscopic imaging is being used to study colitis, inspired by research from the labs of Sarah Bohndiek in Cambridge and Adrian Regensburger in Erlangen:

Published in Advanced Science, their work introduces a novel ‘transrectal absorber guide’ – an imaging approach that enables visualization of the colon from outside the body. Using this new method, they surprisingly demonstrate how inflammation reduces blood vessel coverage and length but increases vessel diameter.

Vasilis walks us through the fundamentals of this technique, and we dive into the nuances of signal acquisition and image segmentation..

🍸 For this episode it was quite easy to choose. Something that takes us back 20 years or so in Boston and the early days of fluorescence molecular tomography, a drink enjoyed at Sonsie, one of the best bars in downtown Boston at Newbury street: The Grey Goose martini – a twist on the vodka martini cocktail.

Recipe: 3 parts Grey Goose Vodka, 1 part dry Vermouth and garnish with cocktail olives. Great things can come in very simple forms.

Selected Publication: Buehler A, Brown EL, Nedoschill E, Eckstein M, Ludwig P, Wachter F, Mandelbaum H, Raming R, Oraiopoulou ME, Paulus LP, Rother U, Friedrich O, Neurath MF, Woelfle J, Waldner MJ, Knieling F, Bohndiek SE, Regensburger AP. In Vivo Assessment of Deep Vascular Patterns in Murine Colitis Using Optoacoustic Mesoscopic Imaging. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Dec;11(45):e2404618. doi: 10.1002/advs.202404618. Epub 2024 Oct 22. PMID: 39439243; PMCID: PMC11615813.

Further information on the European Society for Molecular Imaging:
https://e-smi.eu/
Contact: office@e-smi.eu