NSF/FDA SIR: Techniques for Assessing the Performance of Optical Coherence Tomography Systems for Nanoparticle-based Detection of Gastrointestinal Cancers

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1135514ChenThis NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) proposal aims to investigate nanoparticle-enhanced optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging techniques for detection of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers through the development of novel phantom-based test methods. Conventional white-light endoscopy and biopsy are currently the gold standards for GI cancer screening, however, they suffer from high false-negative rates resulting in undetected cancers. OCT provides real-time imaging of tissues with resolution approaching that of histopathology. Clinical studies of OCT for GI cancer detection are promising, however, the relatively low contrast between neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissues limits its diagnostic accuracy. The recent advent of plasmonic nanoparticles has introduced a new opportunity to enhance OCT contrast for GI cancers. The molecular-specific binding of antibody-conjugated nanoparticles to cancer biomarkers raises the potential for improved clinical cancer detection through OCT-targeted endoscopic biopsy. Substantial progress has been made in the development of nanoparticle-enhanced OCT imaging, however, innovation has been inhibited by a lack of reliable, widely-accepted benchtop techniques for characterizing image quality and the ability to detect neoplastic lesions. As a result, quantitative intercomparison of OCT system performance is problematic and the potential for understanding device-, nanoparticle- and tissue-dependent effects is diminished. The inability to assess OCT systems with wellestablished techniques also complicates the regulatory process and increases the burden on manufacturers to provide clinical studies to demonstrate safety and effectiveness. Therefore, the primaryobjectives of the proposed project are to develop and validate novel phantom-based test methods that will enable rapid and reliable evaluation of OCT system performance and to advance nanoparticle-enhanced detection of GI cancer with OCT. Biologically-realistic tissue phantoms representing normal and nanoparticle-labeled cancerous tissues will be developed. Techniques for OCT-based measurement of sample optical properties and estimation of nanoparticle contrast enhancement will be developed. Additionally, idealized "metric determination phantoms" will be developed to characterize fundamental OCT performance parameters such as resolution and sensitivity. The potential for improving imaging performance by incorporating plasmonic nanoparticles (e.g., gold nanoshells) will be assessed.