ENLIGHTEN
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optical Molecular Imaging and Sensing during Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion
IRAS ID
216012
Contact name
Kevin Dhaliwal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The main purpose of this study is to develop novel techniques and technologies to image infection and inflammation in the human lung and to optimise ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) and ventilation for organ reconditioning. It is often the case that the lungs in patients who are considered for organ donation are not suitable for transplantation. Transplantation outcomes have improved considerably over the last 30 years, however, there is still a severe shortage of lungs, with only one in five of the potential donor lungs available in the UK used in lung transplants.
At present, evaluating whether lungs are suitable for transplantation is a highly subjective process and desperately requires new objective measures to assess suitability for transplantation. We wish to undertake research to image and sense the physiology of human lungs authorised for research and deemed unsuitable for transplantation. We would like to do this by placing the lungs on machines that deliver air and fluid to investigate, in a controlled environment, new ways to assess lungs for possible signs of inflammation and infection (i.e. injury) prior to transplantation. We would also like to deliver treatments to the lungs to determine how damaged lungs can absorb certain treatments and whether these can lead to an improvement in function. EVLP provides the best model system for us to rapidly tailor therapies and investigate lung injury and disease and will hopefully lead to new methods to assess and optimise for transplantation in the future.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1883
Date of REC Opinion
4 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion