Implantable tech could cast new light on bladder cancer treatment
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A new implantable device which aims to maximize the effectiveness of light-sensitive drugs could improve outcomes for bladder cancer patients in the future. Engineers and cancer scientists from the University of Glasgow are behind the development of the device, which uses wirelessly powered micro-LEDs to boost the delivery of light through tissue-mimicking models in the lab. The platform, developed by a team led by Professor David Flynn, is a first step towards a more precise, affordable and comfortable application of photodynamic therapy to treat bladder cancers in the years ahead.
How photodynamic therapy is limited
Photodynamic therapy works by using light-sensitive drugs called photosensitizers to selectively destroy cancer cells. It is commonly used in the treatment of skin cancer, but its effectiveness is currently constrained by the physical properties of the human body's tissues. Tissue tends to absorb light, making it more challenging for doctors to reach some types of tumors growing deeper in the body in organs like the bladder.
To overcome those constraints, today's photodynamic therapies can require invasive surgeries and bulky, power-hungry external light sources to flood treatment sites with additional light. The team's new platform is designed to be flexible and small enough to be implanted next to tumors, allowing light to reach treatment sites more directly while minimizing the need for invasive procedures. It also draws power from a wireless source, cutting the need for external systems entirely.
The scale of the cancer challenge
Dr. Rolan Mansour of the University of Glasgow's James Watt School of Engineering is the paper's corresponding author. He said, "In the developed nations, one in three people is expected to develop a form of cancer during their lifetime. Today, bladder cancers cause 16 deaths a day in the UK alone, according to figures from Cancer Research UK.
"However, bladder cancer, like many others, is potentially curable if it is diagnosed and treated early, before metastatic spread or invasion into adjacent organs. Given that photodynamic therapy has the potential for less side effects and could improve cancer treatment outcomes, our work is focused on improving its effectiveness by delivering light where it's most needed, to the photosensitizers which tackle and kill cancer cells."
Designing the implantable light device
In a paper published in the journal Opto-Electronic Advances, the team describe how they designed and fabricated their disk-shaped, 40mm-wide device using laser-based fabrication techniques at the University's James Watt Nanofabrication Centre and tested it in the lab.
It uses four micro-LEDs on a flexible substrate made of Parylene C, a biocompatible polymer suitable for use in medical implants. Using power drawn wirelessly via resonant inductive coupling, the LEDs can deliver optical outputs in excess of five megawatts.
Lab tests show promising performance
In lab tests using materials designed to closely mimic human tissues, they showed they were able to send light with minimal loss through slices of synthetic tissues at thicknesses of up to 50mm.
They also used a photosensitizer solution to test how the system could be used to generate singlet oxygen, the highly reactive, cancer-destroying molecule produced by the interaction between photosensitizers and light. Their results showed that the solution reacted to the light from the LEDs as planned, reliably producing singlet oxygen on demand and demonstrating the potential of the system for use as an implantable device to support photodynamic therapy.
The James Watt School of Engineering's Professor David Flynn is lead of the EPSRC PATIENT project which has delivered these recent results. He said, "These are very encouraging results, which demonstrate how flexible bioelectronics, wireless power delivery and photonics can be combined to create advanced, minimally invasive treatments, which could improve the clinical outcomes of photodynamic therapies.
"The cost-effective fabrication processes we used in this new technology also have the potential to deliver a scalable and affordable future treatment pathway which can be used in combination with other therapies.
"Although there is still significant further experimental work to be done before the system is ready to be used directly in patient treatments, the results represent a significant step toward next-generation wireless cancer therapies and implantable photonic medical devices."
Recognition and future collaboration
The development of the system was recognized at IET Excellence and Innovation Awards in 2024, where the team received the Health Technology Award for their work.
Researchers from Edinburgh Instruments Ltd also contributed to the research and co-authored the paper.
More information
Rolan Mansour et al, A flexible wireless system for prospective photodynamic therapy applications, Opto-Electronic Advances (2026). DOI: 10.29026/oea.2026.250275
Key medical concepts
Urinary Bladder NeoplasmsPhotochemotherapy
Clinical categories
Oncology Provided by University of Glasgow Who's behind this story?
Gaby Clark
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