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>> SO THERE IS A LOT OF INTEREST IN DEVELOPING
NONINVASIVE REALTIME AND PAINLESS TECHNOLOGIES TO
KNOW IF A LESION IS EITHER CANCEROUS OR NOT.
TODAY, IF YOU GO TO THE DERMATOLOGIST AND YOU'VE GOT
A SUSPICIOUS LESION ON YOUR SKIN, BASED ON THE RESPONSE
OF THE VISUAL INSPECTION, THE DERMATOLOGIST CAN TELL
YOU THAT IT LOOKS LIKE CANCEROUS, OR IT DOESN'T.
BUT IF YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT TO KNOW IF IT IS
CANCEROUS OR NOT, YOU HAVE TO DO A BIOPSY.
THE APPROACH THAT WE'RE DOING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
NEW MEXICO IS BASED ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
TEMPERATURE RESPONSE OF HEALTHY SKIN, AND THE
TEMPERATURE RESPONSE OF A MALIGNANT LESION.
WE FEEL THAT THERE IS SOME HIDDEN INFORMATION IN THE
RESPONSE TO A TEMPERATURE STIMULUS THAT CAN BE
CAPTURED USING AN ADVANCED LONG-WAVE INFRARED IMAGING
AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM CALLED ALIAS.
AT THE HEART OF THE ALIAS SYSTEM IS A LONG-WAVE
INFRARED CAMERA, BUT THE PROBLEM WITH THE CURRENT
INFRARED TECHNOLOGIES IS THESE ARE VERY EXPENSIVE,
AND THEY NEED TO BE COOLED DOWN TO MINUS 200 DEGREES
CENTIGRADE. SO THIS MAKES THE SYSTEM NOT
VERY PORTABLE, IT MAKES THEM LOUD, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
IT MAKES THEM VERY EXPENSIVE.
SO IN MY RESEARCH GROUP, WHICH CONSISTS OF ABOUT 20
PEOPLE, WE ARE RESEARCHING THE NEXT GENERATION OF
INFRARED CAMERAS BASED ON TWO NANOTECHNOLOGY MATERIAL
SYSTEMS; NAMELY QUANTUM DOTS AND SUPERLATTICES.
THESE SENSORS ARE THEN PLACED INTO AN IMAGING
SYSTEM WHICH IS USED TO CAPTURE A TEMPERATURE
CHANGE. WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE
PHASE OF DOING CLINICAL TRIALS, SO IT PROBABLY NEEDS
ABOUT THREE TO FOUR YEARS TO VALIDATE THE TECHNOLOGY,
TEST THE SYSTEM, AND EVENTUALLY GET THIS INTO THE
HANDS OF A DERMATOLOGIST. THE BEAUTY OF WORKING ON
THIS CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY IS, YOU NOT ONLY GET TO DO
ALL THE FUN STUFF WHICH IS INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH,
BUT THEN YOU GET TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF
GRADUATE STUDENTS. SO YOU'RE TRAINING THE
SHARPEST MINDS WHO CAN EITHER MAKE THE NEXT
INVENTION, MAKE THE NEXT DISCOVERY, OR TAKE A PRODUCT
INTO THE REAL WORLD AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE'S
LIVES. >>THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. DO YOU HAVE
A QUESTION FOR OUR EXPERTS? PLEASE EMAIL US YOUR VIEWER QUESTIONS.