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

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project offers a substantial improvement in the surgical treatment of cancer. The inability to find malignant tissue by sight or touch limits the tissue that the surgeon can identify and remove. Currently, removal of affected tissue must be confirmed in the pathology laboratory resulting in delays of results for sometimes 24-36 hours. Some patients may be subjected to multiple surgeries for the complete removal of the cancerous tissue. NovaScan has developed a highly innovative, rapid and accurate criterion for detecting cancerous tissue using the tissue electrical properties of the tissues. This technology will be incorporated into a hand-held probe used by the surgeon to ascertain that the surgical wound and regional lymph nodes are clear of cancer. The broader impacts of this research are related to reducing the number of repeat surgeries that increase the risk for the patient, and add a cost burden to our society at a time when we are trying to reduce health care costs. For breast cancer, one group has reported 48.5% of patients required more than one operation to removal the known cancer. In contrast to other methods under study, the proposed technology requires less time, no sample preparation, and does not employ the use of hazardous agents for tumor detection. Based on earlier studies, the NovaScan device offers a tool for the surgical suite or pathology laboratory that can detect tumor cells accurately and at lower costs than is currently available.