Biomedical Researcher Uses Ultrasound to Measure Early Response to Cancer Treatment

A biomedical scientist at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada is exploring how ultrasound and light can be used to measure the effectiveness of cancer treatment in the early stages of therapy. By comparing high-frequency ultrasound patterns before and after treatment, doctors can potentially know within days if a tumor is responding to a prescribed therapy.

“Currently, patients have to complete an entire course of radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments – possibly enduring the negative side effects – before they know if the treatment has been effective,” said Michael Kolios, a professor in the Ryerson Department of Physics. “With the use of high-frequency ultrasound doctors could determine a tumor’s response to therapy very early on in treatment. As a result, better-informed decisions can be made about the efficacy of treatment and whether to continue with the prescribed plan or develop a different one.”

Kolios, who recently received renewed funding for his Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Applications of Ultrasound, is focused on two areas of research: how ultrasound patterns can quickly determine if a treatment is effective; and researching how ultrasound can be applied as a therapy itself.

This research, in collaboration with Gregory Czarnota, a Physics Professor at Ryerson and a researcher at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and Ryerson Physics Professor Carl Kumaradas, has several potential benefits: improving the quality of life for people suffering from a variety of diseases; supporting other research by offering fast feedback on the effectiveness of trial therapies; and possibly reducing the need for invasive procedures and surgeries.

“One of our goals is to explore how ultrasound technologies can be used in the fight against cancer,” said Kolios. “I’m hopeful that we can expand the practice and application of ultrasound to develop new, more accurate and lower-cost disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring techniques.”

Ryerson has the only physics department in Canada fully dedicated to medical physics, a specialized branch of applied physics that is at the forefront of advancements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer and heart disease through the use of physics and technology. Kolios’ research on mid to high frequency ultrasound imaging and spectroscopy for cancer treatment monitoring is being funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Ryerson University is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers close to 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to 28,000 students, including 2,000 master’s and PhD students, nearly 2,700 tenured and tenure-track faculty and staff, and more than 130,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education.