The overall objective of the proposed exploratory study is to develop a novel high resolution spectroscopic imaging technique that utilizes light, elastically scattered from epithelial tissues in near backward direction, to extract information about macroscopic tissue composition as well as tissue structure at the cellular and sub-cellular scale. 85% of all cancers begin in epithelial tissue, the tissue that lines most of the internal organs in the body. Despite the significant effort that has been expended to find means to identify early precancerous pancreatic lesions, none of the currently available approaches has shown the capability to detect pancreatic neoplasms sufficiently early to allow effective treatment.
Technical merit: This application addresses the development of a minimally invasive optical technique that may enable early detection of pancreatic carcinogenesis in situ. It is hypothesized that comprehensive measurement of elastic light scattering including its spectral, angular, and polarization properties will enable detection of precancerous lesions in the pancreas.
Broader impact: The technique developed in this project may potentially enable, for the first time, screening of patients for pancreatic cancer and, thus, significantly reduce the mortality from this disease.
