Optimized, Cost Effective X-Ray Imaging that Rivals MRI
Overview
The most common form of liver cancer in adults, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is difficult to detect in its early stages using existing technologies such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Rose-Petruck’s invention allows for the earlier detection of HCCs and other cancers via a novel use of x-rays. His technology involves the use of nanoparticles to label different kinds of tissues. He then measures how x-rays are scattered to identify tissues inside the body.
Market Opportunity
Around the world, nearly half a million people per year are diagnosed with HCCs, which account for three out of four liver cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that HCC patients have a five-year survival rate of just 10%, in part because these cancers are so difficult to detect before they reach the size (4.5 to 8 cm in diameter) at which they become symptomatic. CT and MRI scans are beset by false positive or false negative results, which lead to common misdiagnosis of HCC.
HCC is especially common in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The United States sees more than 24,000 new cases of primary liver cancer develop each year, of which approximately 19,000 result in death.
Innovation and Meaningful Advantages
The typical kind of x-ray radiography seen in doctor’s offices relies on the differences in how various kinds of body tissues absorb x-rays. Rose-Petruck’s invention instead measures diffraction, or the way an x-ray beam is spread out by an object or obstacle. This method has the potential to be more than a thousand times more sensitive than conventional absorption methods and could enable imaging of soft tissues with high contrast.
To improve this imaging method, Rose-Petruck uses nanoparticles that bind to tissue and interact with the passing x-rays. Such an approach provides a nearly background-free image because scattered x-radiation is very well separated from transmitted radiation due to the different angles at which the scattered radiation reaches a detector.
Collaboration Opportunity
We are seeking a licensing opportunity for this innovative technology. Potential customers include: medical device (imaging) manufacturers.
Principal Investigator
Christoph Rose-Petruck, PhD
Professor of Chemistry
Brown University
Brown tech ID #2093J
Christoph_Rose-Petruck@brown.edu
IP Information
2016-04-19 US9316645B2; published.
Publication
Rand D, Walsh EG, Derdak Z, Wands JR, Rose-Petruck C. A highly sensitive x-ray imaging modality for hepatocellular carcinoma detection in vitro. Phys Med Biol. 2015 Jan 21;60(2):769-84. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/60/2/769. Epub 2015 Jan 5. PMID: 25559398; PMCID: PMC4323189.