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| Professor Lois Salamonsen |
The xCELLigence machine has been purchased through a $32,000 donation from Balwyn Rotary.
Endometriosis affects 176 million women worldwide, and is caused when endometrial cells. which line the uterus, grow elsewhere in the body.
The condition causes lesions to grow on nearby areas including the ovaries, pelvic and abdominal organs. Endometriosis is associated with symptoms including debilitating pain, and a woman's fertility can be affected.
Diagnostic tools and treatment options for endometriosis are very limited. Diagnosis is only through laparoscopic surgery.
Head of Hudson’s Centre for Reproductive Health, Professor Lois Salamonsen, said Hudson researchers will use the new equipment to measure the functionality of endometrial cells harvested from menstrual fluid.
“Endometriosis is caused by live endometrial cells in menstrual fluid passing into the peritoneal cavity, attaching to its surface and invading this to form the lesions of endometriosis,” Professor Salamonsen said.
“This new equipment funded by the Rotary Club of Balwyn will be used to measure the functionality of such endometrial cells that we will harvest from menstrual fluid.
"In particular, comparisons will be made between cells from women without and those with endometriosis, in terms of the cells’ ability to multiply, attach to and invade a biological surface.
"The equipment enables us to measure the way these cells respond in real time - over hours and days.
"In women with endometriosis, we predict that endometrial cells that are shed will have increased capacity to attach to and invade a surface.
"Examination of these cells in menstrual fluid provides a unique opportunity to discover means to stop the shed cells forming endometriotic lesions: desperately needed by clinicians and women all over the world.”
The xCELLigence machine will also be used by researchers from across Hudson Institute in a number of disciplines, including endocrinology and cancer.
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