A Quantitative Optical Sensor to Monitor Tumor Vascular Physiology

描述(申请人提供)：2008年，美国有47,560例新的头颈部癌症(HNC)病例。早期发现新的和局部复发的癌症不仅对于减少癌症相关的死亡率，而且对于减少治疗相关的发病率具有重要的临床意义，因为它影响到多个器官的功能，包括呼吸，嗅觉，听力，进食， 吞咽，说话。癌与非恶性组织的鉴别依赖于病变活检的病理检查。虽然这些损伤是在最初的临床检查中发现的，但获取样本进行分析可能在技术上具有挑战性，并使患者感到不舒服。此外，有大量的劳动力、设施和金钱资源被花费在最终没有恶性肿瘤的患者身上。一旦发现癌症，晚期鼻咽癌的治疗通常需要手术、放疗和化疗相结合，以最大限度地增加治愈的机会。多模式治疗会导致不良副作用，影响患者的身体健康，例如饮食和说话，以及生活质量。使用较少的医疗模式可以将发病率降至最低，但可能会 治疗失败的风险增加。确定既能将发病率降至最低，又能使治愈机会最大化的最佳策略是一项重大的临床挑战。与头颈癌的筛查和治疗相关的重大临床需求尚未得到满足。我们的长期目标是开发一种便携式光学技术，能够在白光和自动荧光成像的引导下，提供对局部组织部位的组织吸收和散射的准确和精确的分析。最初的市场将是与头颈部癌症的诊断和指导治疗相关的应用程序。该工具的临床价值将要求它是快速和非侵入性的，以便可以在患者访问期间获得反馈，便携式使得它可以在可移动的环境中使用，并且以最小的操作员偏差进行定量，从而获得的数据在操作员和患者之间是一致的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In 2008, there were 47,560 new cases of head and neck cancers (HNC) in the United States. Early detection of new and locally recurrent cancers is clinically important to reduce not only cancer related mortality, but also treatment associated morbidity as it impacts multiple organ functions including respiration, olfaction, hearing, eating, swallowing, and speaking. Discrimination of cancer from non-malignant tissues is dependent on pathological examination of lesion biopsies. Although these lesions are identified during an initial clinical exam, obtaining a specimen for analysis can be technically challenging and uncomfortable for patients. Furthermore, there is an immense amount of labor, facility, and monetary resources that are expended on patients who ultimately have no malignancy. Once carcinoma is identified, treatment for advanced HNC commonly requires a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to maximize the chance for cure. Multi-modality treatment causes undesirable side effects that affect a patient's physical well-being, e.g. eating and speaking, and quality of life. Using fewer modalities can minimize morbidity but with a potentially increased risk for treatment failure. Determination of the optimal strategy to both minimize morbidity and optimize the chance for cure is a major clinical challenge. There is a significant unmet clinical need associated with the screening and treatment of head and neck cancers. Our long-term goal is to develop a portable, optical technology that can provide accurate and precise analysis of tissue absorption and scattering of local tissue sites guided by white light and auto fluorescence imaging. The initial market will be applications related to the diagnosis and guided therapy of head and neck cancers. The clinical value of this tool would require it to be fast and non- invasive such that feedback could be obtained during the patient's visit, portable such that it can be used in an ambulatory setting and quantitative with minimal operator bias such that data obtained is consistent across operators and patients.