SuperResPath-Renal Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SuperResPath-Renal: Quantitative super-resolution technology for a fast, de-centralised clinical diagnosis of renal pathologies
IRAS ID
270613
Contact name
Scarlet Brockmoeller
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a , IRAS 270613
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Kidneys are the organs that filter the blood and produce urine. Conditions are usually identified by doing a kidney biopsy, a procedure that takes a piece of kidney tissue for examination under a microscope (instrument used to see objects which are too small to be seen by naked eye). Currently, electron microscopes are the only tool able to detect tiny nanoscale (a nanometre is a millionth of a millimetre) changes in kidney tissue. Detecting these tiny changes allows experts to diagnose specific kidney diseases, like Minimal Change Disease and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (scarring). These affect two components of the kidney filtration barrier: podocytes (cells wrapped around blood vessels) and basement membrane (sitting between cells and vessels).
In the last 10 years, a new class of light microscopy that enables imaging at the nanoscale has emerged: super- resolution microscopy, which is able to resolve structures too small to see with normal light microscopes. This type of microscopy can be used to visualise the really small kidney structures that are affected in these diseases. The company Oxford Nanoimaging (ONI) has built one of the world’s first desktop super-resolution microscopes, which can sit on a laboratory bench and make advanced imaging more easily usable in clinical practice. The technology can measure data of multiple single molecules with great accuracy.
We recognised the need for a faster, simpler, cheaper test that studies the entire kidney biopsy in detail rather than a small part of it. This would increase diagnostic quality and give advantages to patients and the NHS, such as a shorter time to diagnosis in just 2-5 days. To achieve this we will test and confirm a range of kidney markers in renal tissue using the ONI microscope. This information will then be used to build a computer programme for automated image analysis.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EM/0305
Date of REC Opinion
15 Dec 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion