Scientists at Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS) are developing new medical technologies to help doctors with the treatment of diseases. These include miniature imaging devices to guide surgery, artificial intelligence or ‘AI’ for diagnosis and robotics to assist surgeons.

‘OpUs: Illuminating Disease’ (OpUS), is a collaborative project led by scientist, Dr Richard Colchester, and artist, Priya Odedra. Dr Colchester’s Research Group is developing small imaging probes that will be tested and applied in various surgical areas, with a particular focus on heart procedures. The probes use light and sound to navigate blood vessels in the heart and find abnormalities and obstructions or ‘plaque’, which narrow the blood vessels and lead to health problems like heart disease. Once located by the probe, doctors can remove the plaque or use a ‘stent’ (a tiny wire mesh tube, which is expanded like a balloon) to open up the blood vessel and increase blood flow.

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This virtual, immersive experience enables you to explore how technologies like the imaging probe work inside the body. Enter an unknown space. As you move around, what do you see and hear?

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OpUS was commissioned for the SURGE virtual showcase by WEISS at University College London (UCL), and the Post-Grad Community at University of the Arts London (UAL).

The OpUS virtual experience was brought to life by Karoline Winzer a UAL student who specialises in creating experiences combining tech, interaction, music, and graphics.

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Dr. Richard Colchester is a Research Fellow at UCL’s Interventional Devices Group . Dr Colchester’s research involves developing new imaging and sensing technologies to transform how minimally invasive surgeries are performed. He uses sound, light, heat and more in his research to provide information about the human body and how to treat diseases. The Research Group works across disciplines, combining chemistry, physics, maths, computer science, engineering, and medicine to make solutions. Most importantly, they work closely with doctors and patients to make sure everything has a purpose.

Dr Colchester’s profile | Interventional Devices Research Group website

Priya Odedra is an interdisciplinary artist and graduate of MA Art and Science at Central Saint Martins, UAL. Her creative practice and research explores our cultural identification with new technologies and their application in different areas including healthcare and the environment. She experiments with natural materials, audio-visual effects, sensory technologies and interactive art to identify ways we can build deeper connections with other people and living systems. Collaboration and community engagement are integral to Priya’s creative process, which evolves through interactions with local people, patients, scientists and other artists.

Priya’s website