An innovative method for diagnosing bacterial
infections and a new MRI-compatible air motor are the first
projects to receive grant funding from the Johns Hopkins
Medicine Alliance for Science and Technology Development
Industry Committee.
The Alliance, a group of high-level business
executives that assists
School of Medicine faculty in facilitating
commercialization of their inventions, awarded $50,000 each
to faculty members Martin G. Pomper, associate professor of
radiology, pharmacology and molecular sciences, and
oncology; and Dan Stoianovici, associate professor of
urology and mechanical engineering. The grants are intended
to provide bridge financing during development of new
technology.
Pomper, collaborating with Bert Vogelstein, of
Hopkins'
Sidney
Kimmel Cancer Center, has developed a new method to
image bacteria that has been effective in identifying
organisms including E. coli in a mouse model.
First, Pomper and colleagues inject a radioactive
agent, thymidine kinase (TK) substrate
2'-deoxy-1-*-D-arabinofuranosyl-5-[124I]iodouracil (FIAU),
which is trapped by bacteria inside the body. Then they use
the noninvasive imaging technique positron emission
tomography, combined with computed tomography for anatomic
detail, to identify the site of the infection.
Traditionally, bacterial infections are diagnosed
through blood culture, though those tests don't reveal the
location of the infection, Pomper says. In some cases,
doctors can take blood samples from patients, tag the white
blood cells with a radioactive molecule that will show up
on medical imaging tests and re-inject them into the
patients to identify the source of infection. But "it's
very cumbersome," he says, "and you don't always get great
results."
Pomper plans to first evaluate the new method in
people with orthopedic infections, starting with patients
with acute inflammation, particularly those with prosthetic
joints.
"These patients sometimes complain of pain in the
joint, but we don't know if the joint is infected or if the
prosthesis has become loose," he says. "This test promises
greater accuracy and safety than current techniques. If it
is proved feasible, it could have a significant impact on
the way that infection is diagnosed."
Stoianovici has created what he describes as "the
first pneumatic step motor that is precisely
controlled."
"Pneumatic motors generally are very fast and
powerful," he says, "but not precise." With his new type of
pneumatic motor, "you command how many steps you want to
take, and which direction, and the motor responds."
Stoianovici developed the motor for medical
applications as part of a project creating a robot that can
operate precisely within the closed tube of high-intensity
magnetic resonance imaging equipment to perform remote
interventional procedures.
To be MRI-compatible, the motor was designed of
nonmagnetic materials that do not conduct electricity, such
as plastics, ceramics and rubbers. It also is encoded with
fiber optics so that it is electricity-free, exclusively
operated through pressure and light. This allowed for the
development of the first fully MRI-compatible robot, which
is being tested at Johns Hopkins for fully automated
prostate brachytherapy, or radioactive seed injection,
under direct MRI guidance.
Stoianovici says the motor has other applications in
medicine and industry. Presently, pneumatics is limited to
unregulated motion, such as in air drills, cylinders,
linear and rotary grippers, and pick-and-place automation
slides. With the new motor, pneumatics also could be used
for precise motion in robots, microprocessor fabrication,
operating in explosive environments and other
electricity-free applications. "It's a very basic building
block," he says.
Approximately 130 Hopkins faculty members are part of
the Technology Opportunities Program that works with the
Alliance, comprising 18 executives from a range of
disciplines, including the pharmaceutical, investment
banking and medical device industries. Twice each year,
some 20 faculty present their inventions to the members and
receive immediate feedback.
The Alliance is building a fund of up to $5 million
from which members hope to award up to three grants per
year for Hopkins faculty members.