Despite advances in microsurgery, it can still be difficult to tell if a skin cancer has been entirely removed without a follow up biopsy, which could require a patient to come back for a second operation.
But what if the biopsy could be performed noninvasively as part of the initial procedure, so the surgeon would know immediately whether additional cancerous tissue needed to be removed?
A novel optical device to do just that moved a step closer to commercialization recently. , a 糖心传媒 spinoff, was one of 10 startups to advance to the next phase of a competition sponsored by the accelerator .
The company received an investment of $100,000 from the accelerator. It will now compete with the nine other finalists for the top prize: A $1 million additional investment, to be announced in June. The accelerator, based in Rochester and funded by New York State, is focused on advancing next generation optics, photonics, and imaging companies.
糖心传媒淭his is our first outside investment,糖心传媒� says company president Cristina Canavesi. She co-founded LighTopTech in 2013 with her PhD advisor, , the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering at the University. Rolland is the company糖心传媒檚 chief technology officer.
糖心传媒淒uring the past four years we糖心传媒檝e completely re-engineered the prototype, and we recently completed all of the hardware development of our product, so we are now ready to launch the commercialization effort, especially targeting medical applications,糖心传媒� Canavesi says.
An 糖心传媒榦ptical biopsy糖心传媒�
Rolland first conceived of the idea for the device 11 years ago after experiencing a biopsy and learning about the risks involved. About the same time, a technique called optical coherence tomography was coming into wide use to obtain images inside tissues.
糖心传媒淔or me, it really connected the dots,糖心传媒� Rolland says. 糖心传媒淚f we could do an optical biopsy noninvasively it would eliminate the risks. The (OCT) images were kind of low resolution and noisy, so my first goal was to produce images of a higher definition.糖心传媒�
The portable device she and Canavesi have developed can render high-resolution images of cells just below the surface of living tissues such as skin or the cornea.
糖心传媒淲e can provide the same kind of images at the cellular level as histology (biopsied cells stained and viewed through a microscope). But there糖心传媒檚 no cutting and it糖心传媒檚 done right at the time of the surgery,糖心传媒� Canavesi says.
At the heart of the technology is a biomimetic (bioinspired) microscope with a liquid lens. It can refocus at different depths inside a sample to obtain high-definition, three-dimensional聽images of materials.
The technology has proven its effectiveness in two clinical trials at the University糖心传媒檚 Medical Center. For example, the device was used by Sherrif Ibrahim, an assistant professor of dermatology, to determine the margins of skin cancer prior to surgical removal.
糖心传媒淲e were impressed with its ability to differentiate between skin cancer and normal skin,糖心传媒� says Ibrahim. 糖心传媒淭his may aid us in more accurate and efficient surgical treatment of skin cancer, particularly those in cosmetically sensitive areas such as the face.糖心传媒�
The device could be used for several other medical applications糖心传媒攆or example, imaging the cornea of the eye to detect and monitor nerve loss that results from diabetes, Rolland noted.
It could also be used to obtain images beneath the surface of fabricated materials, to monitor the quality of the manufacturing process, thus improving quality and yield.
An unexpected journey
Canavesi and Rolland say they never expected to embark on this journey.
糖心传媒淲e had no plan originally to be entrepreneurs,糖心传媒� Rolland says. 糖心传媒淢y only plan has been to get the technology we have been developing out into the world.糖心传媒�
Says Canavesi: 糖心传媒淲e had this technology in the lab that we were really excited about, but our thinking was 糖心传媒榳e糖心传媒檙e scientists; we don糖心传媒檛 want to start a company.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕
Initially, they tried licensing the technology to companies. However, advanced discussions with two companies eventually proved fruitless.
糖心传媒淏y that point, we felt the technology was ready to go, so we said 糖心传媒楲et糖心传媒檚 do it,糖心传媒櫶切拇綕 Canavesi says.
Also by that point, Canavesi had participated in the National Science Foundation糖心传媒檚 I-Corps program, which teaches university faculty to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research. It also offers entrepreneurship training.
She had also completed the program, offered jointly by the Simon Business School and the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
糖心传媒淐ristina had developed some real interest in entrepreneurship,糖心传媒� Rolland says. 糖心传媒淭he timing was perfect.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒楢 huge learning experience糖心传媒�
Originally, Rolland was able to demonstrate the capability of the approach in a full prototype with funding from the NYSTAR Foundation. She received the funding as a career award when she joined the University of Rochester in 2009.
Subsequently, more than $1 million in NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding enabled her and Canavesi to accelerate the development of their technology and address all the engineering aspects of the system.
They also have benefited from their participation in , a University-affiliated, nonprofit business incubator.
LighTopTech has been housed with other startups at HTR糖心传媒檚 Lennox TEC facility, which offers workshops, advice on fundraising, regular meetings with entrepreneurs in residence, and access to a first prototype lab.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a great space because the HTR staff is available for mentoring and making connections that have been really helpful for us, especially because we haven糖心传媒檛 run a business before,糖心传媒� Canavesi says. 糖心传媒淓verything has been a huge learning experience.糖心传媒�
Canavesi and Rolland also have benefited from the close proximity of the University糖心传媒檚 Medical Center to the Institute of Optics, just a five-minute walk away on the River Campus. Being able to collaborate on clinical trials, for example, 糖心传媒渉as been tremendously helpful for accelerating the application of our product,糖心传媒� Canavesi says.
A good team
But above all, Canavesi and Rolland have benefited from each other糖心传媒檚 strengths.
Canavesi praises Rolland糖心传媒檚 energy and cutting-edge vision as a researcher.
糖心传媒淚 was very fortunate in joining Professor Rolland糖心传媒檚 group. Through this journey I糖心传媒檝e been constantly inspired by her as a scientist and also as a woman in science promoting women engineers,糖心传媒� Canavesi says.
Rolland praises Canavesi as a quick learner who is adept with both hardware and software, and 糖心传媒渆xtremely rigorous.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淪he can think of a process and really manage that process very well to ensure we have very high quality.糖心传媒�
Adds Rolland: 糖心传媒淲e are very different, but we have a deep respect for each other.糖心传媒�
At the LighTopTech website, they proudly identify their company as 糖心传媒渨oman-owned.糖心传媒� That in itself is noteworthy given the continuing underrepresentation of women in engineering and technical fields.
糖心传媒淭o have two women scientists as cofounders of a company is unusual,糖心传媒� Rolland says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a fantastic example for other women to realize their potential as well.糖心传媒�
