SBIR Phase I: Endoscopic Probe for Molecular Imaging and Diagnosis of Cancerous Prostate Pathologies

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善前列腺癌患者的预后，前列腺癌影响约八分之一的男性，是男性中第二致命的癌症。目前诊断前列腺癌的过程是不精确的，通常涉及多轮越来越侵入性，不舒服和昂贵的诊断测试。该项目中提出的医疗技术将减少为确诊而进行的不必要的活检和昂贵的磁共振成像检查（MRI）的数量，并能够改善对疑似或康复的前列腺癌患者的持续监测。该设备将帮助医院节省宝贵的时间，降低整体护理成本。该设备的设计将满足临床医生的特定需求，以便在诊断工作流程的早期准确诊断前列腺癌病例，同时降低卫生系统的成本。此外，该技术的开发将侧重于成本效益，以确保即使在资源匮乏的环境中也能获得更高的前列腺癌诊断能力，这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将产生一种使用光声成像（派）的新型医疗设备的原型。以及新的声透镜技术以帮助检测和诊断前列腺癌。现有的早期检测方法，如直肠指检、前列腺特异性抗原检测和经直肠超声检查，往往是不确定的。该项目中提出的派内窥镜探头设备将为医院和临床医生提供一种新的方法，用于可视化潜在的癌症前列腺组织，具有比现有诊断更高的成像对比度和分辨率。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve outcomes for patients with prostate cancer, which affects about one in eight men and is the second deadliest cancer among men. The current process for diagnosing prostate cancer is imprecise and commonly involves multiple rounds of increasingly invasive, uncomfortable, and expensive diagnostic tests. The medical technology proposed in this project will reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and expensive magnetic resonance imaging tests (MRIs) performed to confirm diagnosis, and enable improved ongoing monitoring of suspected or recovered prostate cancer patients. The proposed device will help hospitals save valuable time and decrease overall costs of care. The device will be designed to address the specific needs of clinicians to accurately diagnose prostate cancer cases at an earlier point in the diagnostic workflow, at a lower cost to health systems. Additionally, the technology will be developed with a focus on cost effectiveness, to ensure increased prostate cancer diagnostic capabilities are accessible even in low-resource settings, such as rural communities and low- and middle-income countries.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will result in a prototype of a new medical device that uses photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and novel acoustic lens technology to aid in detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer. Existing early testing options, such as digital rectal exams, prostate-specific antigen tests, and transrectal ultrasounds, are often inconclusive. The PAI endoscopic probe device proposed in this project will offer hospitals and clinicians a new method for visualizing potentially cancerous prostate tissues, with higher imaging contrast and resolution than existing diagnostics. It will also offer an alternative to other testing methods with known deficiencies that often result in misdiagnosis or missed cases.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.