Jennifer Kehlet Barton

Director, BIO5 Institute

Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering

Professor, Agricultural-Biosystems Engineering

Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Professor, Medical Imaging

Professor, Optical Sciences

Professor, Cancer Biology - GIDP

Professor, BIO5 Institute

Member of the General Faculty

Member of the Graduate Faculty

Primary Department

BIO5 Institute

Department Affiliations

BIO5 Institute

Contact

(520) 626-0314

barton@arizona.edu

Work Summary

I develop new optical imaging devices that can detect cancer at the earliest stage. Optics has the resolution and sensitivity to find these small, curable lesions, and we design the endoscope that provide access to organs inside the body. .

Research Interest

Jennifer Barton, Ph.D. is known for her development of miniature endoscopes that combine multiple optical imaging techniques, particularly optical coherence tomography and fluorescence spectroscopy. She evaluates the suitability of these endoscopic techniques for detecting early cancer development in patients and pre-clinical models. She has a particular interest in the early detection of ovarian cancer, the most deadly gynecological malignancy. Additionally, her research into light-tissue interaction and dynamic optical properties of blood laid the groundwork for a novel therapeutic laser to treat disorders of the skin’s blood vessels. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal papers in these research areas. She is currently Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Optical Sciences, Agriculture-Biosystems Engineering, and Medical Imaging at the University of Arizona. She has served as department head of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Vice President for Research, and is currently Director of the BIO5 Institute, a collaborative research institute dedicated to solving complex biology-based problems affecting humanity. She is a fellow of SPIE – the International Optics Society, and a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Keywords: bioimaging, biomedical optics, biomedical engineering, bioengineering, cancer, endoscopes

Publications

Confocal-rainbow volume holographic imaging system

Castro, J. M., Gelsinger-Austin, P. J., Barton, J. K., & Kostuk, R. K. (2011). Confocal-rainbow volume holographic imaging system. Applied optics, 50(10), 1382-8.

The performance of broadband volume holographic imaging system in terms of depth selectivity is investigated. The mechanism for depth resolution degradation is explained. In order to overcome this resolution degradation, a novel imaging device, the confocal-rainbow volume holographic imaging system, is proposed. Modeling and experimental validation of the performance of this novel imaging system indicates that depth resolution 16 μm is achievable. The lateral resolution of this device is 2.5 μm along a field of view of 300 μm×100 μm.

Task-based imaging of colon cancer in the Apc(Min/+) mouse model

Barton, J., McNally, J. B., Kirkpatrick, N. D., Hariri, L. P., Tumlinson, A. R., Besselsen, D. G., Gerner, E. W., Utzinger, U., & Barton, J. K. (2006). Task-based imaging of colon cancer in the Apc(Min/+) mouse model. Applied optics, 45(13).

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), and laser-scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) were used for the task of multimodal study of healthy and adenomatous mouse colon. The results from each modality were compared with histology, which served as the gold standard. The Apc(Min/+) genetic mouse model of colon cancer was compared with wild-type mice. In addition, a special diet was used for the task of studying the origins of a 680 nm autofluorescent signal that was previously observed in colon. The study found close agreement among each of the modalities and with histology. All four modalities were capable of identifying diseased tissue accurately. The OCT and LSCM images provided complementary structural information about the tissue, while the autofluorescence signal measured by LIF and LSCM provided biochemical information. OCT and LIF were performed in vivo and nondestructively, while the LSCM and histology required extraction of the tissue. The magnitude of the 680 nm signal correlates with chlorophyll content in the mouse diet, suggesting that the autofluorescent compound is a dietary metabolite.

Jennifer Kehlet Barton