Title：US Contrast Agents and its Theranostic Roles
Speaker：Chih-Kuang Yeh, Ph.D. （National Tsing Hua University）
Location： Room 413，Jiaxi Building
Time：13：00 pm ，Oct 30,2015
Chih-Kuang Yeh, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor, National Tsing Hua University
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences
101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan 30013
E-mail: ckyeh@mx.nthu.edu.tw
EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy, Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, January 2004.
WORK EXPERIENCES
August 2012 – present
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
August 2009 – July 2012
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
August 2005 – July 2009
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My areas of interest include but are not limited to: medical imaging, medical devices, ultrasound imaging, ultrasound theranostics, microbubble/phase-change droplet physics, high-frequency ultrasound.
AWARDS AND HONORS
Distinguished Professor, National Tsing Hua University, 2015–present. Industry/University Cooperative Research Award, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, November, 2014. Academic Achievement Award, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, 2009–2015. |
National Innovation Award, Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry, Taiwan, 2011. |
Dr. Wu Da-You Memorial Award, National Science Council, Taiwan, 2010. |
Young Faculty Research Award, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, October, 2008. |
Abstract： Ultrasound contrast agents are highly echogenic microbubbles bearing a lot of unique properties. Microbubbles can basically improve the sensitivity of conventional ultrasound imaging to microcirculation. The resonance of microbubbles in response to incident ultrasound pulse results in nonlinear harmonic emission that serves as the signature of microbubbles in microbubble-specific imaging. Inertial cavitation and destruction of microbubbles can produce a strong mechanical stress enhancing the permeability of surrounding tissues, and can further increase the extravasation of drugs from the blood into the cytoplasm or interstitium. Stable cavitation by high-frequency ultrasound can also mildly increase tissue permeability without causing any damage even at a high acoustic pressure. Microbubbles can carry drugs, release them upon ultrasound-mediated microbubble destruction, and simultaneously enhance vascular permeability to increase drug deposition in tissues. Various targeting ligands can be conjugated to the surface of microbubbles for attaining ligand-directed and site-specific accumulation for targeted imaging. In addition to the current development of microbubble technology, our studies about the applications of microbubble-specific imaging, ultrasound-aided drug delivery, and targeted imaging have been introduced in this review. These applications are promising but may require further improvement for clinical use.
