LSU Researchers Develop Groundbreaking Cancer-Detecting Device

LSU researchers have developed a device capable of detecting cancerous tissues during surgery with unprecedented speed and accuracy. This technology could significantly reduce the likelihood of cancer recurrence and improve patient survival rates globally.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease, with one in two men and one in three women expected to face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Surgical removal of tumors is often a critical step in cancer treatment, but ensuring surgeons remove all the cancerous tissue is one of the biggest challenges.

"Forty percent of cancer patients experience local recurrence within five years of their initial surgery,” said Jian Xu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at LSU.

The solution to this problem is an AI-aided Raman imaging device that can detect cancerous tissue within seconds during surgery. Healthy tissue and cancerous tissue scatter light differently; Raman imaging works by shining light on the tissue during surgery. The light interacts with the molecules in the tissue, and the system then analyzes how that light scatters, allowing the system to quickly and accurately identify cancer cells in real-time.

Xu’s team includes Jian Zhang, associate professor in the LSU Division of Computer Science and Engineering; Dr. Michael Dunham, professor and section head of pediatric otolaryngology at LSU Health New Orleans; and Dr. John Lyons, cancer surgeon at Our Lady of the Lake Health.

LSU graduate students involved in the research include electrical engineering Ph.D. candidates Dinkar Regmi, Ya Zhang, and Huaizhi Wang.

“I wanted to do something good for society, and I feel like helping detect cancer is a good opportunity for me,” Regmi said.

"Our system can tell the surgeon if the tissue is cancerous or not in three to five seconds," said Xu. By allowing surgeons to assess all areas of concern in real time, the device helps create a detailed profile of the cancer, ensuring more precise removal.

The device’s accuracy is remarkable, particularly for laryngeal cancer, with a published accuracy rate of 96 percent, and can be used on most cancers.

"This system can be virtually used in almost any cancer, any solid tumors — not blood cancer —but solid tumors," Xu says. He adds that this represents a significant improvement over existing fluorescence-based imaging systems limited to specific cancer types.

Currently, the system is undergoing clinical studies in partnership with local hospitals. As the clinical studies expand, Xu and the team hope to bring the technology to rural areas where access to advanced cancer care can be limited.

“By being able to precisely assess the cancer margins in real-time, we have an opportunity to provide cancer surgery that will be safer and more accurate for patients while being more efficient for the entire cancer enterprise.”

LSU alum Dr. John Lyons, surgical oncologist at Our Lady of the Lake Health

The research received funding from Our Lady of the Lake Health, LSU’s Championship Health Partner, through their $170 million investment in LSU announced in 2022. Through an inaugural round of funding, the partners’ Collaboration in Action research program is investing a total of $1.2 million in five collaborative LSU research teams that will advance basic, clinical and translational science in five critical areas, including cardiovascular disease and care; comprehensive cancer care; trauma and neuroscience; chronic respiratory disease; and sports medicine and performance.

"We are so excited to be part of this clinical trial as this technology has the potential to be transformative for cancer surgery,” said LSU alum Dr. John Lyons, surgical oncologist at Our Lady of the Lake Health. Dr. Lyons earned his medical degree and completed his residency at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. “By being able to precisely assess the cancer margins in real-time, we have an opportunity to provide cancer surgery that will be safer and more accurate for patients while being more efficient for the entire cancer enterprise.”

The device also has global impacts, especially in reducing the rate of cancer recurrence.

"Globally, we have 9 million cancer surgeries every year, and 40 percent of them have local recurrence. If we can achieve a clean margin during surgery, we could improve survival rates by 15 percent. This system could potentially save 1.3 million cancer patients annually."

Students have played a crucial role in developing the device, contributing to everything from optical design to programming and animal testing. "None of this work could be done without the students' input," Xu emphasizes. He describes the research as "bench-to-bedside technology," with students gaining hands-on experience in every aspect of the process.

Xu said this work has been a true collaboration that has relied on expertise across LSU’s disciplines, from optics and electrical engineering to veterinary science and pathology.

“LSU is a fabulous place to do interdisciplinary research,” says Xu. “It’s a flagship university that connects experts in various subjects, which made this research possible.”

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