SGER: Development of Minimally Invasive Optical Technique for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer

背景拟议探索性研究的总体目标是开发一种新的高分辨率光谱成像技术，该技术利用从上皮组织近向后弹性散射的光，在细胞和亚细胞尺度上提取关于宏观组织成分和组织结构的信息。85%的癌症都是从上皮组织开始的，这种组织排列在人体大部分内脏中。尽管已经花费了大量的努力来寻找识别早期胰腺癌前病变的方法，但目前可用的方法中没有一种方法显示出足够早地发现胰腺肿瘤以进行有效治疗的能力。技术优点：这项应用解决了一种微创光学技术的发展，该技术可以使早期原位检测胰腺癌发生。假设弹性光散射的综合测量，包括其光谱、角度和偏振特性，将能够检测胰腺癌前病变。更广泛的影响：该项目开发的技术可能首次实现对胰腺癌患者的筛查，从而显著降低这种疾病的死亡率。

0417689BackmanThe overall objective of the proposed exploratory study is to develop a novel high resolution spectroscopic imaging technique that utilizes light, elastically scattered from epithelial tissues in near backward direction, to extract information about macroscopic tissue composition as well as tissue structure at the cellular and sub-cellular scale. 85% of all cancers begin in epithelial tissue, the tissue that lines most of the internal organs in the body. Despite the significant effort that has been expended to find means to identify early precancerous pancreatic lesions, none of the currently available approaches has shown the capability to detect pancreatic neoplasms sufficiently early to allow effective treatment.Technical merit: This application addresses the development of a minimally invasive optical technique that may enable early detection of pancreatic carcinogenesis in situ. It is hypothesized that comprehensive measurement of elastic light scattering including its spectral, angular, and polarization properties will enable detection of precancerous lesions in the pancreas. Broader impact: The technique developed in this project may potentially enable, for the first time, screening of patients for pancreatic cancer and, thus, significantly reduce the mortality from this disease.