Stephen A. Boppart
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department of Bioengineering
Department of Internal Medicine
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
boppart@illinois.edu
Since disease originates at the molecular and cellular level, there is a clear need for optical imaging devices in medicine and surgery to detect and diagnose disease at those scales, and to do so at the point-of-care or the point-of-procedure. However, because medical imaging has traditionally been delegated to radiologists and a few other specialists, critical issues related to integration, education, training, and adoption of new optical biomedical imaging technologies exist across all areas of medicine and surgery. This presentation will highlight some of the key elements and challenges for translational and transformational research, and for moving technologies from the academic lab toward commercialization. Some specific examples of new optical imaging technologies will be given for intraoperative assessment of tumor margins and lymph nodes, as well as for advancing optical imaging capabilities for screening in primary care medicine. New opportunities such as those have emerged for integrating optical imaging devices as we re-engineer and improve our healthcare systems.
Stephen Boppart is the Bliss Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, Department of Internal Medicine, and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory is focused on developing novel optical biomedical diagnostic and imaging technologies, and translating them into clinical applications. Prof. Boppart obtained his Ph.D. in Medical and Electrical Engineering from MIT, and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He has over 200 invited and contributed publications and over 40 patents related to optical biomedical imaging technology. He has mentored over 85 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate interdisciplinary researchers. He was recognized by MIT Technology Review magazine as one of the Top 100 Young Innovators in the World for his development of medical technology, received the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Early Career Award, and won the Paul F. Forman Engineering Excellence Award from the Optical Society of America for dedication and advancement in undergraduate research education. Recently, he received the international Hans Sigrist Prize in the field of diagnostic laser medicine. He was Founding Director of the Mills Breast Cancer Institute at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, Illinois, and has worked to establish partnership ties between the University of Illinois and local medical institutions. Prof. Boppart has co-founded three start-up companies (LightLab Imaging, Diagnostic Photonics, and PhotoniCare) to commercialize and disseminate his optical technologies for biomedical imaging. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, AIMBE, IEEE, OSA, and SPIE. Currently, he is Director of a campus-wide Illinois Imaging Initiative to integrate imaging science, technology, and applications across multiple modalities and fields.