Diagnostic Spectrofluorimeter for Colonic Dysplasia

We will commercialize a diagnostic spectrofluorimeter (DSF) for use by gastroenterologistsperforming endoscopic surveillance for colorectal dysplasia/carcinoma. The DSF will consist of acompact, special purpose spectrofluorimeter and a specially designed optical fiber diagnostic probe. Theprobe is passed through the biopsy channel of a standard colonoscope and brought into contact withthe colonic mucosa. The DSF will excite, collect and analyze mucosal autofluorescence to indicate thepresence of dysplasia. It will guide biopsy and enable real-time spectroscopic assessment of tissuesuspected of being dysplastic. Phase l will develop the prototype design of this unit. The specific aimsare to accomplish (l) subsystem optimization, (2) system optimization and (3) prototype design of anintegrated, compact, easy-to-use prototype unit which would be constructed and clinically tested in aPhase II effort. The program will employ background knowledge and technology developed at MIT underNIH support. Innovation in this project will come in areas of system optimization and engineering design.