Photoacoustic imaging and artificial intelligence-based theranostic approach for cancer

Introduction

Health programs crave for diagnostic imaging and eradication of chemoresistant neoplastic lesions smaller than 1 mm in size. PHIRE, based on the outcomes from EDIT (FET-OPEN-RIA, GA#801126), aims at bringing closer to market a novel high-resolution theranostic medical device effective in the clinical applications for lesions <1 mm, ready for application in human bladder cancer and effective both in male and female patients.

Development of the PHIRE Solution

The PHIRE solution will be developed using a swine model and will include:

• An add-on module for pre-existing off-the-shelf photoacoustic devices, allowing for photoacoustic imaging of hollow organs located deeper in the human body, designed to be used in combination with
• An artificial intelligence-assisted prediction map for the image-guided gold nanorods-assisted photo-thermal therapy.
• A large-scale synthesis of urine-stable gold nanorods for clinical use.

Clinical Applications and Impact

The adoption of this new device for clinical applications will reduce the frequency of bladder tumor relapse and the number of patients with relapsing tumors. This will have a drastic positive impact on the quality of life of patients while reducing the social cost of managing these patients. Furthermore, PHIRE's results will open up the way for the deployment of theranostic applications against lesions <1 mm in other hollow human organs.

Broader Market Applications

PHIRE's innovative solutions will also be applicable to other markets, such as:

1. Photoacoustic and diagnostic imaging
2. Gold nanoparticles
3. Cystoscopy
4. Medical software