SBIR Phase II: Electrical Property Detection of Residual Cancer in the Surgery Suite

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to bring to market a hand-held probe used by the surgeon to ascertain that the surgical wound and regional lymph nodes are clear of cancer. This technology will provide a highly innovative, rapid and accurate device for detecting cancerous tissue by interrogating the electrical properties of the tissues. Currently, removal of affected tissue must be confirmed in the pathology laboratory resulting in delays of up to 36 hours. If the residual cancer is left undetected the patient may be subjected to multiple surgeries or worse, may have a reoccurrence of the disease. This innovative technology will provide surgeons with a tool to ensure all cancer is removed, assist pathologists to help identify malignancies, and provide better results for breast surgery patients to avoid second or third surgeries. The broader impacts of this research will be the development and implementation of a novel, accurate, rapid, inexpensive, non-invasive, low power, hand-held probe that can assist the surgeon in the removal of all of the cancerous tissue and assist the pathologist in the diagnosis of specific tumor regions. Cancer is a major health problem in the US with over 1.4 million new cases and 560,000 deaths at a cost of $72 billion each year. In particular, the detection of breast cancer has serious drawbacks: cancer is hard to find in dense breast tissue, often depend on the use of invasive contrast agents, and advanced detection technologies are expensive and not available to the entire population. In addition, some types of tumors are not easily identifiable. Surgical procedures are safe only if all cancer is removed. Clearly, there is a pressing need for new technologies that would improve the detection of cancerous tissue.