# Detecting and Monitoring Implant Infection Using X-ray Excited Luminescence Chemical Imaging (XELCI)

> **NIH NIH R01** · CLEMSON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $316,181

## Abstract

Abstract
Approximately half of the two million infections acquired at hospitals in the US are associated with implanted
medical devices. Bacterial colonization of implanted medical device surfaces is a major cause of device failure
and usually requires device removal coupled with long term antibiotic treatment. Risks of morbidity/mortality
from surgery and prolonged hospitalization make early detection critical. However, detection is challenging at
early stages prior to development of systemic symptoms of infection when bacteria localized to inaccessible
regions of the implant. We will develop a novel medical imaging technique, X-ray excited luminescent chemical
imaging (XELCI) to non-invasively detect and monitor bacterial biofilms on modified implant surfaces. Our long
term goal is to develop a sensor to detect and monitor in vivo infection. The approach is innovative because no
other imaging technique provides surface-specific chemical information at high-resolution through thick tissue.
XELCI is a type of scanning optical microscopy wherein a narrow X-ray beam irradiates a radioluminescent film
on the implant surface creating a local luminescent spot with pH -dependent spectra. Although the
luminescence scatters and blurs as it passes through the tissue in the “far field,” the spectrum depends upon
the local pH at the luminescence source, and image resolution is defined by the X-ray beam width. We will
apply the technique to detect acidosis beneath biofilms in order to detect and monitor infection. Our two
specific aims are to 1) Refine and validate XELCI sensors in vitro and ex vivo; 2) Use XELCI to Assess pH
Changes during Healing and Infection in a Rabbit Model. The proposed research is significant because it
develops a non-invasive method to detect, monitor, and study biofilms in situ with the ultimate potential for
reducing morbidity, mortality and associated cost from implant infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9970188
- **Project number:** 5R01AR070305-05
- **Recipient organization:** CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JEFFREY N ANKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $316,181
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-07-11 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9970188

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9970188, Detecting and Monitoring Implant Infection Using X-ray Excited Luminescence Chemical Imaging (XELCI) (5R01AR070305-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9970188. Licensed CC0.

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