Christopher Andrew Dirdal

Multidimensional Digital Histopathology Using Scalable Optical Micro-Chip Technologies

Diagnosing diseases like cancer, infections and autoimmune conditions often depends on examining tissue samples under a microscope. This process can be slow owing to the many time-consuming steps involved in preparing tissue samples for observation, i.e. to enable visible contrast between cancerous and non-cancerous cells. Furthermore, the process can be subjective, with doctors sometimes reaching different conclusions, leading to more tests or, in the worst case, misdiagnosis. In this context, the EIC-funded OPTIPATH project offers a solution with a groundbreaking approach to tissue analysis. Using advanced optical chip-based technology combined with machine learning, it aims to provide fast, accurate 3D imaging of unprepared tissue samples. Invisible properties of light will be harnessed to give access to information currently unavailable to practitioners.

About the speaker:

Christopher Dirdal is Research Manager for the Micro Optics research group at SINTEF Digital, specializing in sensing platforms based on chip-based optical technologies such as piezoelectric thin-film MOEMS, nanophotonics (metasurfaces, SERS) and integrated waveguide platforms. SINTEF is one of Europe’s largest independent research organizations with more than 2200 employees and 3300 customers. The Micro Optics group works within SINTEF MiNaLab, a national NorFab infrastructure for micro- and nanotechnology. From MiNaLab several med-tech startups have arisen such as In-Vivo Bionics commercializing bladder pressure monitoring and SpinChip Diagnostics commercializing microfluidic blood analysis (recently acquired by bioMérieux for 138M EUR).