Nanomedicine: Applications in Diagnostics and Surgery

Nanomedicine: Applications in Diagnostics and Surgery
Nanomedicine: Applications in Diagnostics and Surgery

The use of nanotechnology in the field of Health Sciences has triggered novel and very promising applications in diagnostics and invasive therapy of human diseases. 

The development of novel tools with improved imaging characteristics would lead to an early identification of the diseases. Imaging nanotools make it possible to visualize tumors using non-invasive as well as intraoperative imaging approaches.

The aim of this e-learning programme is to introduce the participants to the field of nanodiagnostics and nanosurgery.

The integration of nanotools with biology has led to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications, and drug delivery vehicles.

The programme elaborates the types, the characteristics, in vivo and in vitro applications and the potentials of nanotools as diagnostic agents or biomarkers in cancer imaging, neurophysiological disorders, ocular imaging, and cardiovascular disease imaging.

The course focused on the use of the nanotools as contrast agents in imaging modalities such as CT, US, MRI as well as in multi-modality imaging in radiology and nuclear medicine.

Furthermore, the course illustrates the recent advances in the development of nanotools for nano-image guided surgeries including Sentile lymph node mapping, tumour margins mapping, tissues ablation and wound treatment.

Through this programme the students will acquire knowledge and generate ideas on how nanotools can be used in many fields of Health Sciences improving diagnostic or invasive techniques by overcoming limitations and barriers for a better patient management.  

 

Professor of Biology, Genetics & Nanomedicine, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Professor of Medical and Radiation Physics

This e-learning programme is addressed to Greek and International students or graduates in Sciences like Medicine, Biomedical or Biochemical subject, Medical Physics, Medicine Biological, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Applied Physics or in a related field.  

The goal of the programme is to provide the participant with knowledge concerning the applications of nanotechnology in the fields of diagnostics and nanosurgery.  The programme highlights the potential of the use of various nanosystems as contrast agents in imaging modalities, as diagnostic tools in biosensors and biochips and as guided or photosensitized agents in nanosurgery.

 

MODULE 1 TYPES AND APPLICATIONS OF NANOTOOLS IN NANOMEDICINE 

LESSON 1. INTRODUCTION TO NANOTOOLS FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS
Unit 1. NANOSHELLS
Unit 2. MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES
Unit 3. QUANTUM DOTS
Unit 4. CARBON NANOTUBES
Unit 5. POLYMER NANOPARTICLES
Unit 6. DENDRIMERS
Unit 7. LIPOSOMES
Unit 8. MICELLES
Unit 9. NANOBIOSENSORS
Unit 10. OTHER TYPES OF NANODEVICES

This lesson presents the different types and properties of the nanotools that nanotechnology uses in medicine, pharmacy, medicine biological and medical physics for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

LESSON 2. APPLICATIONS OF NANOTOOLS IN DIAGNOSTICS
Unit 1: APPLICATIONS OF NANOPARTICLES IN ONCOLOGY
Unit 2: NANODIAGNOSIS- IN VIVO IMAGING IN NEUROLOGY
Unit 3: NANOOPHTHALMOLOGY
Unit 4: NANOCARDIOLOGY

The aim of this lesson is to show how nanotechnology is applied in the study of cancer imaging, neurophysiological disorders, ocular imaging, and cardiovascular disease imaging. This unit discusses the various applications of nanotechnology in the diagnosis and elaborates on the main nanoparticle platforms used in these fields as diagnostic agents or as biomarkers, on their applications and on the progress that has been made for precise diagnosis of the disease.

MODULE 2 NANOPARTICLES AS CONTRAST AGENTS IN MEDICAL IMAGING

LESSON 1. NANOPARTICLE-BASED CONTRAST AGENTS
Unit 1: NANOPARTICLES AS CONTRAST AGENTS IN MRI
Unit 2. NANOPARTICLES AS CONTRAST AGENTS IN CT
Unit 3. NANOPARTICLES AS CONTRAST AGENTS IN ULTRASOUND IMAGING

This lesson analyzes the basic characteristics and properties of nanoparticle as contrast agents in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT) and Ultrasound imaging (US).

LESSON 2. APPLICATIONS OF NANOPARTICLES AS CONTRAST AGENTS IN MRI, CT AND US
Unit1. CLINICAL APPLICATIONS IN MRI
Unit 2. CLINICAL APPLICATIONS IN CT
Unit 3. CLINICAL APPLICATIONS IN US IMAGING

This lesson gives an overview of current applications of nanoparticle contrast agents in oncology and cardiovascular imaging highlighting in this way the potential role of nanoparticles in clinical and preclinical imaging. 

MODULE 3 NANOPARTICLES IN MULTI-MODALITY IMAGING 

LESSON 1. NANOPARTICLES IN DUAL-MODALITY IMAGING 

Unit 1. CT COMBINED DUAL-MODALITY IMAGING
Unit 2. MR COMBINED DUAL-MODALITY IMAGING

This lesson demonstrates the potentials of the multifunctional radiolabeled nanosystems in multimodality imaging and especially in SPECT/CT, PET/CT, PET/MRI and SPECT/MRI. 

LESSON 2. NANOPARTICLES IN OPTICAL COMBINED MULTI-MODALITY IMAGING 
Unit 1: OPTICAL COMBINED DUAL-MODALITIES IMAGING IN RADIOLOGY
Unit 2: OPTICAL COMBINED DUAL-MODALITIES IMAGING IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE
Unit 3: TRIPLE-MODAL IMAGING

This lesson focuses on the coupling of fluorescence imaging with CT, MR, PET and SPECT imaging. The unit demonstrates the potential of using multifunctional nanoparticles/nanosystems for multimode modalities in Radiology and Nuclear medicine. 

MODULE 4 IN VITRO APPLICATIONS OF NANOMEDICINE

LESSON 1. IN VITRO APPLICATIONS OF NANOMEDICINE
Unit 1: NANO-BIOSENSORS
Unit 2: NANOBIOCHIPS
Unit 3: CELL BASED NANO-BIOSENSORS IN MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS
Unit 4: NANOBASED CONFOCAL SPECTROSCOPY AND MICROSCOPY
Unit 5: NANOPARTICLES

This lesson analyzes the applications of nanomedicine in vitro diagnosis for high throughput screening and towards personalised medicine. The improvement of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques towards ultra-high spatial resolution, molecular resolution and ultra-high sensitivity will also be discussed. 

MODULE 5 NANOSURGERY

LESSON 1. NANO-IMAGE GUIDED SURGERY 

Unit1. SENTINEL LYMPH NODE BIOPSY 
Unit 2. NANOPARTICLES AND SENTINEL LYMPH NODES MAPPING 
Unit 3. NANOPARTICLES AND DETECTION OF MALIGNANT TUMOR MARGINS AND MICROMETASTASES 

This lesson attempts to provide in a concise, thorough and understandable manner the currently acquired knowledge and existing experience on how nanoparticles could guide surgery related to important oncologic parameters, such as the sentinel lymph node, the tumor margins, the residual malignant disease and the micrometastasis.

LESSON 2. NANOPARTICLES-DIRECTED CANCEROUS TISSUES ABLATION 
Unit 1. HYPERTHERMIA 
Unit 2. MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES AND HYPERTHERMIA 
Unit 3. GOLD NANOPARTICLES AND HYPERTHERMIA 
Unit 4. CARBON NANOTUBES AND HYPERTHERMIA 
Unit 5. QUANTUM DOTS AND PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY 

The second lesson illustrates one of the most widely used cancer tissue-targeted treatments are  the thermal ablation therapies that use directed heating to ablate malignant tissues and provide a minimally invasive alternative to usual surgical treatments. The objective of this unit is to provide in a concise, thorough and understandable manner the currently acquired knowledge and existing experience on how nanoparticles could be exploited in the hyperthermic treatment of cancerous tissues, as well as, with or without photosensitizing agents, in the photodynamic treatment of cancer.

LESSON 3. NANOSURGERY TOOLS 
Unit 1. MINIMIZING SURGICAL DAMAGE 
Unit 2. POST-SURGICAL AND OTHER WOUND HEALING 
Unit 3. INTRACELLULAR NANOSURGERY 

The third lesson attempts to outline the attempts of various research groups to develop nanotechnology applications in all these aspects of the field of surgery. The advent of nanotechnology opens new perspectives in various aspects of surgery, such as the minimization of the surgical trauma, the improvement of surgical instrumentation, the antisepsis measurements, the wound healing process, as well as the ultra-fine manipulation of cells with the intracellular nanosurgery.

After completing each lesson, the participants should submit an evaluation test. The exercises will consist of several exercise types like List-matching, Upload, Pick-one, Boolean and Fill the blanks. The successful completion of the program requires grade of 50% or higher for all courses. The validation procedure will ensure the knowledge increase of the trainees throughout the whole course.    

Online and distance training learning at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens offers a new way of combining innovative learning and training techniques with interaction with your tutor and fellow trainees from around the world.

The e-learning course is implemented via a user-friendly educational platform adjusted to the Distance Learning Principles. Courses are structured as weekly online meetings; interaction with the course tutor and other trainees takes place in a digital learning environment. The courses are designed to fit around your schedule; you access the course whenever it is convenient for you, however within the given deadlines.

The whole world becomes your classroom as e-learning can be done on laptops, tablets and phones as a very mobile method. Learning can be done on the train, on a plane or even during your trip to Greece!

The educational platform is a portal that offers access to electronic educational material based on modern distance learning technologies. The computer based nature of training means new technology is being introduced all the time to help trainees engage and learn in a tailored way that will meet their needs. E-learners have access to the educational platform with their personal code number in order to browse all relevant training material and interact with their instructors.

Moreover, an online communication system through own personal e-mail account is available in order to make the process easier and more interactive. Trainees can contact directly their tutors or the administration office of the course and share any concerns or anxieties related to the course in order to make the most of their experience.

Every week e-learners are provided with the relevant material, delivered either in the form of video-lectures, text notes and relevant presentations or as a combination of them. The educational material of the course is uploaded gradually, per educational unit. During the course, important info for the smooth conduct of the educational process, such as timetables for the submission of the exercises are announced on the Announcement section of the platform.

For successful completion of the course the e-learner should have fulfill her/his academic obligations, meaning should have submitted all corresponding assessment exercises and have achieved at least an average of 50% grade in the corresponding tests for each module. The score scale ranges from 0 to 100%. Finally, if the total score on one or more lessons of the course does not exceed 50%, trainees can ask for reassessment.

During the course trainees will be attending a training experience designed by academics and lecturers from the National University of Athens as well as from other Universities, Research Institutes and Cultural organizations around Greece.

Interactivity, flexibility and our long tradition guarantee that learning with us offers a successful and rewarding experience. Finally, access to a large variety of material and online resources available in each unit aims to excite your curiosity and guide you in exploring further your favourite topic. Part of the online material can be downloaded providing the chance to quickly refresh your memory after the completion of the course.

When will I receive the Certificate?

The Certificate will be sent to you electronically 30 working days upon completion, if you have no remaining academic or financial obligations. The Certificate will be also sent to you through traditional post services. Upon request the Certificate can be sent with the use of courier services. In this case, the relative cost should be covered by your side.