Smart Optical Sensor for Detection of Cervical Cancer In the Developing World

描述（由申请人提供）：子宫颈癌每年影响全世界53万名妇女的生命，造成27万多人死亡，其中约85%的死亡发生在发展中国家。发达国家宫颈癌发病率的下降归因于定期筛查，这种筛查依赖于多次访问、基于细胞学的方法——巴氏涂片，随后在适应症时进行阴道镜指导活检，并在必要时进行治疗。采用这些方法需要专门的诊所进行标本采集、随访和治疗，还需要病理学实验室和熟练的工作人员，这在资源有限的环境中是不可行的。全球迫切需要一种对资源匮乏社区有效的筛查和诊断模式。细胞学检查和阴道镜检查的理想替代品是一种低成本、便携和临床兼容的传感器，它可以检查整个子宫颈，并快速、非破坏性地识别可疑区域进行活检。我们建议开发一种便携式，低功耗的光谱装置，可用于获得准确和可重复的吸收和散射系数的定量测量，应用于宫颈癌筛查，以促进全球健康。我们将通过在海地进行实地研究，评估该设备在低资源环境下的能力和临床可用性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cervical cancer affects the lives of 530,000 women worldwide each year and results in more than 270,000 deaths, with approximately 85% of these deaths occurring in developing countries. The decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries has been attributed to regular screening that relies on a multi-visit, cytology-based approach - Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, followed at a later time by colposcopically directed biopsy when indicated, and treatment if necessary. Employing these methods requires dedicated clinic visits for specimen collection, follow up and treatment, as well as a pathology laboratory and skilled staff, which is not feasible in resource limited settings. There is a critical global need for a screening and diagnostic paradigm that is effective in low-resource communities. The desired replacement for cytology and colposcopy would be a low cost, portable and clinically-compatible sensor that can survey the entire cervix and identify suspicious areas for biopsy quickly and non-destructively. We propose to develop a portable, low power consumption spectroscopic device that can be used to obtain accurate and reproducible quantitative measurements of absorption and scattering coefficients with applications to screening of cervical cancers for global health. We will evaluate the capacity and clinical usability of the device in a low-resource setting through a field study in Haiti. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this proposal is to develop a portable, low power consumption spectroscopic device that can be used to obtain accurate and reproducible quantitative measurements of absorption and scattering coefficients with applications to screening of cervical cancers for global health. The proposed research is significantly relevant to public health due to the potential to contribute to the improvement of cervical cancer, and thus the reduction of mortality rate worldwide.