“It looks like the kind of ultrasound device that’s applied to the belly of a pregnant woman,” she says. “One expected area of application is localising the blockage in real time. Another is to give surgeons direct feedback on whether the instrument used to remove the plaque blocking the vessel has actually succeeded in doing so, so that the brain can receive oxygen again.”
Other quantum sensor research uses the eye as a kind of mini-laboratory in which the cornea becomes a natural window for a “quantum microscope”.
Insulin-producing cells in the eye
Translational experiments are being performed in the field of diabetes to insert insulin-producing cells in the anterior chamber of the eye. This is possible as the eye’s immune system is less aggressive and more accepting of foreign cells. The research has two aims: to empirically study the function and survival of the cells, and to treat patients with the disease.
“We expect the quantum microscope to give research scientists much better sensitivity in their observations,” she continues. “This is also important for the clinical studies that will be done to evaluate how well the grafts have taken.”
Martin Bergö and Ebba Carbonnier both believe that by the next five years there will be clinical validation in the form of studies in OPM-MEG imaging, stroke diagnostics and quantum microscopy. Meticulous evaluation is a fundamental tool of research and development in medical science that ensures the safety and efficacy of new methods.
Unravelling the mystery of Alzheimer’s
Quantum computers are a little behind quantum sensors in their development, but their special computational capacity can prove important in the future, such as in the study of protein folding.
In neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, proteins fold incorrectly, and when they accumulate they kill neurons in the brain. In the cells’ protein factories, long strings of amino acids are assembled, and depending on the different properties of the amino acids, the string folds itself in the exact 3-dimensional shape that forms a protein. Tiny flaws in the DNA, mutations, can increase the likelihood that the protein folds itself incorrectly.
“With more powerful computational capacity we expect to understand more precisely how this misfolding occurs inside living cells,” says Carbonnier. “It will also enable us to predict better the effects of different mutations and perhaps even prevent them.”
Quantum computers can also make a contribution to cancer care. There are many parameters to radiotherapy to take into account, such as the shape, size and radiosensitivity of the tumour and the properties of the surrounding tissue.
Cancer therapy with fewer side-effects
If, given all these parameters, the intensity and angle of incidence of the radiation beam against the tumour can be optimised, the efficacy of the therapy can be improved and its side-effects reduced.
Professor Bergö mentions clinical study design as another target area.
“When testing a new drug, you want to get as clear a set of results as possible and to minimise the number of patients receiving the inactive placebo,” he says. “This is where optimisation can create better studies.”
In the development of new, more effective medications, quantum simulation can predict the targets to which various kinds of molecule could bind under different conditions.
Security in cooperation with the Swedish eHealth Agency
Data security in another area that Carbonnier talks about.
“New quantum computers will be able to crack current encryptions, so we need to develop better data security to protect different kinds of data,” she says.
Carbonnier describes that hostile countries can already engage in what she calls “harvest now and decrypt later” operations – i.e. collecting data that cannot be decrypted today but will be available tomorrow when more powerful quantum computers are available.
“Here, we’re cooperating with the eHealth Agency, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, and the National Defence Radio Establishment to send the message that all systems containing sensitive health data need to be upgraded with quantum-proof encryption,” she says.
Future quantum communication might contribute to the safe sharing of health data. The technique works roughly like a letter that self-destructs if someone tries to open it, making it possible to detect directly any attempt at unauthorised interception.
Resource-hungry research
There are obstacles, however. Some are technical, like quantum computers being sensitive to interference and therefore requiring extremely stable and cooled environments in which to operate. Noise and hardware limitations also still cause them to “miscalculate”, which makes error-correction a crucial research issue.
Other challenges are human and concern how the technology is to be used, developed and integrated into public life.
Carbonnier also notes that “interdisciplinarity takes time”. As she explains:
“It’s time-consuming for physicists and doctors to get to grips with each other’s field. But this is what they need to do if they’re to understand the tiniest components of our molecular and biological processes and to arrive at common, serviceable quantum-application solutions.”
Professor Bergö underlines the importance of the collaborations underway in the Swedish Quantum Life Science Centre.
“National cooperation is essential in Sweden, since research and quantum technology demand so much by way of resources,” he says.
Four Nordic countries acting together
Collaboration also takes place on an international level between the Nordic countries, with Karolinska Institutet hosting the Nordic Quantum Life Science Round Table this September.
“For four countries to have cooperated on quantum technologies in health and life science for the past five years is unprecedented, and as far as we know there’s nothing like it elsewhere in the world,” says Carbonnier. “We need to learn from each other and share our experiences.”
The ultimate objective is better care for patients.
“It’s all about faster and more precise diagnoses that allow more targeted treatment,” she says. “We’re striving for greater precision and individually tailored healthcare. Patients might start demanding hospitals that have these methods in place.”
Professor Bergö stresses Karolinska Institutet’s role:
“We must be way ahead of the development curve since only large universities can make a mark. But once the technology has been established, the advances will benefit all patients. We owe it to humankind to use this technology in life science responsibly.”
Text: Lotta Fredholm
Translation: Neil Betteridge