Research Projects

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth highest cause of mortality around the world. However, cervical cancer progression is slow, and takes about ten years before fully developing. The current techniques, such as cytology which gives very high accuracy, are costly and requires highly skilled workforce. The colposcopy used as triage to locate the high-grade lesion involves using acetic acid, which is corrosive, resulting in patients’ pain during the procedure and needs an expert pathologist to interpret the colposcopy guided biopsies. Recommended screening with HPV DNA is far-fetched due to the cost. Scientific Rationale: Due to the reduced activity of ferrochelatase enzyme during the heme cycle, there is a buildup of the porphyrin and lower total haemoglobin within the cancer cells. The proposed transvaginal probe estimates the cancer biomarkers, such as glycogen, Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), HbO2, and Hb, on the tissue surfaces to differentiate the cancerous tissues from adjacent normal. In order to do so, the proposed transvaginal imaging probe uses the autofluorescence and multispectral diffuse reflectance spectroscopy modalities. The probe detects the increase in porphyrin by shining the light at 405 nm and detecting the image from the tissue surface in about 620 nm. The probe also houses LEDs operating at 545 nm, 575 nm to target the two isosbestic points for HbO2 and Hb, and 610 nm where the absorption coefficient of Hb is about ten times more than HbO2. The camera captures the images of the tis-sue surface by shining the light with 545 nm, 575 nm, and 610 nm, one after other. The ratio R610/R545, R610/R575, and autofluorescence differentiate the cancerous region from the adjacent normal tissues. The LED-based polarization-sensitive multispectral handheld imaging probe comprises a high-resolution sub-miniaturized camera and LEDs operating in ultraviolet (UV) and visible (Vis) regimes. The probe operates at 450 nm (Visible regime), which overlaps with the absorption peak of glycogen. The probe quantifies the protein, glycogen, and nuclear index on the cervix's peripheral tissue, especially near the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ), to differentiate pre-cervical cancer from normal cases. The algorithm then classifies different regimes and differentiates the lesion from the adjacent normal tissues.