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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/R003599/1
Title: Multidimensional endoscopy for early cancer detection
Principal Investigator: Bohndiek, Dr SE
Other Investigators:
Rassl, Dr D
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Physics
Organisation: University of Cambridge
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 April 2018 Ends: 30 April 2025 Value (£): 1,231,511
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Medical Imaging
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
18 Sep 2017 Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards 2 Interviews (Panel B) September 2017 Announced
28 Jun 2017 Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards 28 June 2017 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Each year in the UK, over 55,000 patients will be diagnosed with oesophageal or lung cancer; a staggering 44,000 will die from their disease. The majority of patients are currently diagnosed when their disease is at a late stage (with regional or distant spread), yielding less than 10% survival over 5 years. Therefore, a key clinical unmet need remains for early disease diagnosis.

To detect these cancers early, patients that are at a high risk of disease might undergo endoscopy. An endoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube with a light source and video camera at one end to relay images from inside the body. They replicate what our eye could see if we were able to look inside the body. Endoscopy is vital for surveillance and diagnosis of cancer, however, many cancers of the oesophagus (food pipe) and lung start out as small abnormalities that are hard to spot using conventional endoscopes.

The focus of this research is to augment the vision of the endoscopist by designing a specialist video camera that detects the properties of light that our eyes are blind to. We will also use this new camera in a benchtop system that can analyse tissue that has been taken out of the body (biopsied) very quickly, before it is sent to a pathologist to check for cancer. Our new cameras are designed to be cost effective and provide extra information to help doctors with diagnosing cancer in the oesophagus and lung, and could ultimately replace the current standard-of-care.

Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Summary
Date Materialised
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Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.cam.ac.uk