SBIR PHASE I TOPIC 431, INTEGRATED CELL CULTURE CHAMBER AND FLOW GUIDE FOR POC, WALK-AWAY OPERATION FOR AUTOLOGOUS T CELL MANUFACTURING

Surgical resection is required in approximately 80% of cancers presenting solid tumors. Despite advancing technologies, countries categorized as LMICs show an increase in incidences of various cancers. The lack of preventative screenings, and the associated infrastructure, make both identification and screening of cancers difficult. The long-term objective of this work is to build a benchtop CO2 laser system for testing on tissue-mimicking material, for the purpose of applying this system for treating oral, cervical, and colorectal cancers in LMICs. Laser ablation of tumors and photothermal coagulation of tissue speeds surgery, while helping to decrease positive margins when compared to surgery with traditional tools, and decreases bleeding and healing times. Identification of tumors can be done by eye and aided by fluorescent probes. In this work, a Zemax optical software model will be created to determine optimal lens assembly of the laser vision system, then a benchtop version of the system will be constructed. Finally, the laser vision system will be tested on ballistic gel injected with various fluorophores applied in fluorescent-guided surgery of cancer. The final laser system will run only on electricity, have wheels, and include exchangeable handpieces for ergonomic resection of all three cancer types mentioned above.