A pioneering clinical study is set to launch in Edinburgh, spotlighting groundbreaking technology developed at the University of Bath. The trial will evaluate a medical device designed to extract tissue from deep within the lungs of patients with suspected lung cancer, potentially revolutionising how the disease is diagnosed and treated.

Prothea Technologies – a medical technology spinout from the Universities of Bath and Edinburgh – is spearheading the study. As part of the trial, 40 patients will be recruited at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to test a novel endoscope incorporating a proprietary optical fibre. Both the endoscope and the fibre were developed at Bath.

The endoscope has been paired with advanced image-processing equipment, and together, these devices will enable clinicians to examine lung tissue in real-time and obtain sufficient biopsies of suspicious tissue from the patient’s lungs.

A lung biopsy may be required to confirm a diagnosis in the laboratory or to analyse the molecular structure of a lung lesion, which can inform the selection of cancer treatments.

Eventually, the team aims to add a laser-ablation catheter to the real-time imaging device. This would allow lesions to be treated immediately after diagnosis, meaning mean lung cancer biopsies and treatments could happen in a single visit.

Dr Jim Stone from the Department of Physics at Bath is Prothea’s chief technical officer. He said: "The first time our technology is used in patients is an exciting time for us in Prothea and at the universities where the technology began life. This is where we can begin to see the difference our technology could make to the process of obtaining good tissue samples for examination in pathology."

Dr Adam Marshall, principal investigator in the trial and consultant physician in Respiratory Medicine, NHS Lothian, said: “Despite the introduction of many new technologies in recent years there are still patients around the world whose biopsies don’t provide sufficient tissue for the pathology they require. This novel technology clearly offers something different and I hope that this study will prove to be a satisfactory basis for further clinical investigations.”

The new trial is co-sponsored by ACCORD, the joint research office between the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian.