Project Details
Description
The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project includes the development of an imaging system which addresses the current clinical need for a non-invasive imaging methodology that could image the skin over its depth with high resolutions while offering large histopathological contrasts between malignant and normal tissues. This will provide invaluable assistance to dermatologists with respect to improving tumor detection accuracies. The target market for this device would be the global dermatology diagnostic devices market which is expected to reach a value of USD 5.3 billion by the year 2025. Medical professionals who practice dermatology in clinics, established equipment manufacturers, and product distributors are the main stakeholders of this market. The proposed system will be ultimately integrated in a single framework, resulting in a compact (handheld) and real-time imaging device at very low manufacturing costs. By diagnosing tumors at an early stage, the proposed device will save tremendous amounts of time, effort, and patient discomfort and provide significant cost reductions for both the individual patient and the nation?s healthcare system.This I-Corps project investigates potential commercial markets for a new skin cancer imaging device developed based on the "Synthetic Ultra-Wideband Millimeter-wave Imaging" approach. In this approach, an ultra-wide imaging bandwidth in the millimeter-wave regime that cannot be realized by any conventional design method is assembled synthetically, resulting in significant improvements in the resolution of the acquired images. This approach is expected to enable the millimeter-wave imaging technology to be applied to skin imaging and skin cancer detection. The proposed technology has proven to be effective through proof-of-concept experiments. Firstly, statistically significant contrasts have been observed between the millimeter-wave dielectric properties of normal skin and two of the most common types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. These results verify the potential of the proposed system to provide histopathological-contrast-based evaluations of skin lesions. Furthermore, the feasibility of employing the proposed imaging method for skin cancer detection has been confirmed using realistic skin-mimicking phantoms containing spherical tumor models. The final developed product will be a hand-held, point-of-care millimeter-wave imaging device which provides significantly higher image resolutions compared to the state-of-the-art technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 1/07/18 → 30/06/19 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation
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