The aim of the research is to use modern imaging techniques to study the blood flow, function and composition of periorbital tissue, in order to improve periorbital tumor excision. Together with researchers at the Faculty of Engineering, we are developing and implementing laser speckle contrast imaging to measure blood flow, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, to measure how light interacts with tissue, and photoacoustic imaging, a laser-based ultrasound technique providing high-resolution 3D images of the structure of the tissue.

Today, periorbital tumors are removed and then examined histologically to measure the amount of healthy tissue surrounding the tumor (tumor margin). If the margin is too small, the patient must be re-operated. In and around the eye, there is rarely enough tissue to allow further surgery without advanced reconstructions. With new imaging techniques it may be possible to measure the tumor margin before surgery, and monitor blood flow and flap survival, improving reconstructions after tumor surgery.