Noninvasive multiphoton imaging of subcellular structures with color contrast for rapid detection of skin cancers - Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) represents the most common form of cancer in the human
body. The method for diagnosing and treating NMSCs requires removal of a biopsy that is
prepared and stained for analysis on a standard optical microscope. This process is painful for
patients, introduces a substantial delay into the flow of care, and represents a considerable cost
to healthcare ($6.5B/yr) due to the large number of unnecessary biopsies. Zebra Medical
Technologies (ZMT) aims to address the need for a better method to diagnose NMSCs by
creating a noninvasive imaging technology capable of displaying histology like images of skin
cellular structure in real time. In this project, ZMT will construct a portable, skin-imaging
microscope for human clinical studies (Aim 1), develop software for data
acquisition, image processing, and improved user interface (Aim 2), and
demonstrate in 5 human subjects with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) the ability to
detect pathologic features of BCC (Aim 3). ZMT is the creator of the only commercially
available fiber coupled multiphoton microscopy (MPM) system for in vivo imaging of skeletal
muscle cellular structures and contractile dynamics, the Zebrascope, which has been sold to
three universities and one hospital to date. ZMT will adapt and optimize technologies invented
for the Zebrascope to specifically visualize cellular structures in skin. The ZMT team possesses
expertise in miniaturizing optical systems, designing disposable optical probes with highly
repeatable alignment, imaging deep into living tissue, and conducting human studies with MPM
under IRB oversight. ZMT has already proven feasibility of this concept with a bench top
prototype that successfully imaged subcellular structures in the epidermis and dermis in living
human skin and in excised tumor samples. Success in this project will lead to a larger clinical
study in Phase II. ZMT views NMSC as a natural first target for real time diagnosis that paves
the way for applications in melanoma diagnosis followed by other epithelial cancers such as oral,
esophageal, and cervical.
