Filip Banovac, M.D., Associate Professor of Radiology and section chief of Interventional Radiology, was recently accepted to the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering’s (VISE) Physician-in-Residence program.
A six-month program implemented by the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, the Physician-in-Residence program provides an opportunity for physicians to collaborate with engineering colleagues in developing technologies that can advance surgery and other procedures. The initial goal of the six-month program is to develop a technology that would later translate to the procedural or surgical theater. In parallel, the joint team collects the initial data and plans a research proposal to a federal agency for funding.
Dr. Banovac will work with a team of engineers led by Mike Miga, Ph.D., to develop technology that will improve the accuracy of tumor sampling during biopsy. The technology would allow longitudinal and serial biopsies of the metabolically active part of the tumor.
“This will allow our oncology partners to evaluate how the tumors and certain biomarkers change during therapy,” said Dr. Banovac. “The hope is that this initial research will lead to a long-term collaboration between Interventional Radiology, the School of engineering and its VISE program.”
