A Low-Cost Simple Oral Cancer Screening Device for Low-Resource Settings

描述（由申请人提供）：我们的长期目标是开发一种廉价、简单、便携的口腔癌筛查方法，供低资源环境下的基层卫生保健工作者使用。筛查将确定患者是否需要前往具有更高水平口腔癌专业知识的中心进行进一步检查和潜在的癌症治疗。本应用程序的目的是重新设计现有技术，以提供一种廉价的、非常小的、强大的便携式口腔癌诊断系统，该系统基于光学相干断层扫描（OCT）和一种简单的诊断算法，可以指示每个人进一步的诊断和治疗需求。简而言之，在第一个特定目标下，基于光学相干断层扫描（OCT）的强大便携式口腔癌诊断系统将在加州大学欧文分校建立并进行临床测试。在特定

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our long-term goal is to develop an inexpensive, simple, portable means of screening for oral cancer in the field by basic level healthcare workers in low-resource environments. Screening will identify whether a person needs to travel to a center with higher levels of expertise in oral cancer for further tests and potential cancer therapy. The objective of this application is to re- engineer existing technology to provide an inexpensive very small, robust portable diagnostic system for oral cancer based on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and a simple diagnostic algorithm that indicates further diagnostic and treatment needs for each individual. Briefly, under the first Specific Aim a robust portable diagnostic system for oral cancer based on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) will be constructed and undergo clinical testing at the university of California, Irvine. Under Specific Aim 2, the mini-OCT device and a simple diagnostic algorithm will be tested in India in a specialty Head and Neck Cancer Clinic, and by low-level healthcare workers in the field. The proposed collaborative work between researchers at the University of California Irvine and the Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Center in Bangalore is directly responsive to PAR 11-044 as the proposed device will provide point-of-care cancer screening by basic level healthcare workers. The low-cost, portable, robust imaging system will have the potential for integration into a networked mobile diagnostic network. Relevance. Annually 275,000 oral cancers (OC) and 125,000 deaths due to OC occur worldwide, and OC accounts for up to 50% of cancer cases in India. Because over 2/3 of OC lesions are detected late, treatment outcomes and prognoses are extremely poor. Currently there exists no portable, low-cost, robust, inexpensive simple means of screening for oral cancer in the field by basic-level healthcare workers. We propose to develop and validate a diagnostic modality that will overcome this critical barrier to widespread screening of high-risk populations in low-resource environments. The low-cost, portable end product will provide the basis for future networked and mobile technology for remote cancer diagnostics via minimally educated healthcare workers in the field.