Since August, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has been funding the joint project "Time resolved Raman- and Metabolic Imaging Spectroscopy-Unit" (TIRAMISU for short), in which the LIN Core Facility Combinatorial NeuroImaging (CNI) is also involved.
The aim of the project is to study microorganisms in the mouth and throat. With the help of an ultra-sensitive, time-resolved camera, critical tissue changes and head and neck tumors will be investigated in order to develop biomarkers for early diagnosis.
Background
So-called "head and neck tumors" are among the most common malignant tumors with more than 18,000 new cases per year in Germany and a mortality rate of approx. 50-60 %. Therefore, the role of microorganisms in the oral pharynx in the development of precancerous lesions (critical tissue changes) and head and neck tumors is intensively investigated. The composition of the oral microbiome can serve as a biomarker towards the goal of early diagnosis of malignant tumors.
The innovative goal of the joint project TIRAMISU is the research, realization and evaluation of a non-invasive endoscopic method for the early detection of microbial infection foci in humans based on metabolic changes and molecule-specific "fingerprints" in the mouth, throat and pharynx.
For this purpose, a laboratory sample of an ultra-sensitive, time-resolved camera system is set up on an optical setup with ultrashort pulse lasers so that molecule groups of different spectral ranges can be recorded "simultaneously" and additionally analyzed by means of an image-retaining spectrometer installed in front of the camera. The novel and powerful approach TIRA (TIME RESOLVED RAMAN) consists, among other things, of temporally separating instantaneous molecular vibrations from the fluorescence superimposed on them and evaluating them with enhanced contrast.
Funding
approx. 4,8 Mio. Euro (69,5 % by the BMBF )
Duration
01.08.2021 - 31.07.2024
You will find more information here: https://www.photonikforschung.de/projekte/lebenswissenschaften/projekt/tiramisu.html