research focus

1. Transvaginal Imaging Probe for Cervical Cancer Diagnosis (GynoSight)

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality in women. The current techniques for clinical diagnosis of cervical cancer include visual examination of the cervix using acetic acid and Lugol's iodine and confirmation using histopathology tests. The LEAP Lab is developing novel label-free transvaginal imaging probe using the optical modality for gaining additional information and helping clinicians to make an informed decision on cervical cancer diagnosis. 

Ref: 1) Karthika et al., Journal of Biophotonics, Wiley (Link) 2) Rahaman et al., J. Biomedical Optics, SPIE, 2023 (Link)

2. Multispectral polarization-sensitive Intraoral Cancer Probe for Low-Resource Setting 

Currently, the visual inspection by the clinician in the primary health center is inadequate for accurately diagnosing the type and stage of oral cancer. Using multispectral polarization-sensitive imaging that selectively excites the intraoral cavity with different wavelengths based on the absorption peaks of HbO2 and Hb can help in characterizing the tissue. The LEAP Lab is designing and developing a portable and affordable intraoral cavity probe that can be used in the primary health center, potentially aiding the clinician in improving the efficacy of oral cancer diagnosis. 

Ref: 1) Karthika J. et al. FiO, Optica, 2023 (Link).

3. Optical Techniques for Breast Cancer Margin Assessment

Cancer margin assessment is key to improving the success rate of Breast Conservation Surgery (Lumpectomy). The current technique for performing the cancer margin assessment uses histopathology, which is time-consuming and requires skilled resource settings and personnel. The LEAP Lab is developing a novel optical probe that can be used for in-vivo cancer margin assessment in an intraoperative hospital setting. 

Ref: 1) Kamal et al. J. Biophotonics, 2022 (Link) and 2) Pal et al. IEEE TBME, 2021 (Link)