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

宫颈癌每年影响全球53万名妇女的生命，导致超过27万人死亡，其中约85%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（Pap），随后在有指征时进行阴道镜下直接活检，必要时进行治疗。采用这些方法需要专门的诊所就诊以进行标本采集、随访和治疗，以及病理学实验室和熟练的工作人员，这在资源有限的情况下是不可行的。全球迫切需要一种在低资源社区有效的筛查和诊断模式。细胞学和阴道镜检查的理想替代品将是低成本、便携式和临床兼容的传感器，其可以调查整个子宫颈并快速且非破坏性地识别用于活检的可疑区域。我们建议开发一种便携式，低功耗的光谱设备，可用于获得准确的和可重复的定量测量的吸收和散射系数与应用程序的筛查宫颈癌的全球健康。我们将通过在海地进行的实地研究，在低资源环境下评估该器械的能力和临床可用性。 公共卫生相关性：本提案的目标是开发一种便携式，低功耗的光谱设备，可用于获得准确的和可重复的定量测量的吸收和散射系数与应用程序的筛查宫颈癌的全球健康。拟议的研究与公共卫生密切相关，因为它可能有助于改善宫颈癌，从而降低全球死亡率。

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.