Demonstrating the Use of Optical Fibres in Biomedical Sensing: A Collaborative Approach for Engagement and Education

• Main Authors: Katjana Ehrlich, Helen E. Parker, Duncan K. McNicholl, Peter Reid, Mark Reynolds, Vincent Bussiere, Graham Crawford, Angela Deighan, Alice Garrett, András Kufcsák, Dominic R. Norberg, Giulia Spennati, Gregor Steele, Helen Szoor-McElhinney, Melanie Jimenez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: endoscopic imaging; fluorescence imaging; fiber optics; medical imaging; medical optics instrumentation; lung disease diagnostics; public understanding/outreach; high school/introduction medicine; interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/402

This paper demonstrates how research at the intersection of physics, engineering, biology and medicine can be presented in an interactive and educational way to a non-scientific audience. Interdisciplinary research with a focus on prevalent diseases provides a relatable context that can be used to engage with the public. Respiratory diseases are significant contributors to avoidable morbidity and mortality and have a growing social and economic impact. With the aim of improving lung disease understanding, new techniques in fibre-based optical endomicroscopy have been recently developed. Here, we present a novel engagement activity that resembles a bench-to-bedside pathway. The activity comprises an inexpensive educational tool (<$70) adapted from a clinical optical endomicroscopy system and tutorials that cover state-of-the-art research. The activity was co-created by high school science teachers and researchers in a collaborative way that can be implemented into any engagement development process.