Prof. Ton G. van Leeuwen

Ton van Leeuwen graduated in physics at the University of Amsterdam in 1989. After his PhD and post doc at the Lab. for Exp. Cardiology at the UMC Utrecht and an ICIN fellowship at CWRU (Cleveland), he became staff member of the Laser Center at the AMC. In 2001, Ton was appointed as professor in Clinical Application of Biomedical Optics at the University of Twente, at which he headed the Biomedical Optics group from 2003 - 2008. In 2008 he was appointed as professor in Biomedical Photonics and head of the new BME & Physics department at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam. In 2009, he was appointed as full professor in Biomedical Physics.
Current research focuses on the physics of the interaction of light with tissue, and to use that knowledge for the development, introduction and clinical evaluation of (newly developed) optical imaging techniques for gathering quantitative functional and molecular information of tissue.

The research is structured along the following research lines:
The use of the intrinsic contrast of OCT is explored for the in vivo staging and grading of tumors;
Novel OCT signal analysis to determine blood velocity profiles, perfusion and diffusion and relate this information to pathology;
The integration and combination of different imaging technologies (e.g. OCT and CT, (Raman) spectroscopy and OCT);
Hyper-spectral monitoring and imaging to assess the concentration of blood and blood derivatives as bilirubin, met-, deoxy- and oxyhemoglobin in the skin (for age determination of bruises) and hemichrome (for ex-vivo blood-stain analysis);
New optical techniques for the detection of microvesicles in blood plasm as a "liquid biopsy";
Novel photonic devices, based on minimally invasive designs and integrated optics, which are suitable for small and dedicated monitoring and imaging devices in the clinic ("cleanroom to clinic")