Research and translation of a multimodal optical catheter for cardiovascular diagnostics

For myocarditis, the gold standard for diagnosis is biopsy. However, a single biopsy has low sensitivity and taking multiple pieces of tissue to identify diseased cells is associated with many complications. The goal of this project is to develop a novel cardiac catheter probe that, for the first time, integrates not one but three different sensor technologies (optical coherence tomography, autofluorescence and NIR spectroscopy). The probe will be used to characterize the structural trades changes in myocardial inflammation without damaging tissue or using biomarkers. Instead of taking samples, the probe will record all parameters on the spot and assist the physician in making a diagnostic decision. The project benefits from the strong optics location of Jena with a large number of industrial partners.