Arizona researchers study holographic imaging system for ovarian cancer

Two University of Arizona (UA) researchers have formed a research team to design, build and evaluate two versions of an ovarian cancer medical imaging and screening instrument that will use holographic components in a new type of optical microscope.

Raymond K. Kostuk, MD, and Jennifer K. Barton, MD, have secured a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build the instrument they hope will be used to monitor women at high risk for ovarian cancer.

Kostuk is a professor of electrical and computer engineering, as well as a professor of optical sciences. Barton heads the UA department of biomedical engineering and is assistant director of the BIO5 Institute. She also is a member of the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson.

According to the researchers, the system will project multiple spatial images from different depths within a tissue sample and simultaneously provide spectral information from optical markers to identify cancerous cells. This combined spectral spatial imaging technique shows potential to be more effective in identifying cancerous tissue sites than by separately using spatial or spectral information.

The grant was issued following the two-year development of a prototype system the team built. It tests the validity of using holographic technology for subsurface imaging without having to perform surgery and take tissue samples, according to Kostuk and Barton.

The imaging system will be tested on high-risk patients who are willing to participate and provide some future benefit to other patients who find themselves in a similar situation, Barton said. The holographic imaging system being designed combines an optical technique that creates images capable of detecting subtle tissue microstructure changes. Together with fluorescence spectroscopy methods, the system has demonstrated the capability for early cancer detection.

"The system will image like an MRI or a CT scan but with much higher resolution than an ultrasounic image and will be a lot less expensive than an MRI. As an additional benefit no radiation will be used or exposed to sensitive ovary areas during the cancer screenings," Kostuk said.

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