Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2020-2021)

In Canada, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death accounting for over a quarter ofx000D
all cancer deaths in men and women. The National Lung Screening Trial showed that lowdosex000D
spiral CT imaging can reduce cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk smokers compared tox000D
standard chest x-ray, primarily by detecting early stage cancer nodules, the majority of whichx000D
are small (<9mm) and located in the lung periphery. For definitive lung cancer diagnosis andx000D
treatment planning, a physician must locate and sample suspected lung cancer nodules. Thex000D
safest way to locate and sample lung nodules is using a bronchoscope; however, they are toox000D
large to access the small peripheral airways. We have recently pioneered a new fiber opticx000D
imaging catheter that is 0.9 mm in diameter that shows promise for locating peripheral lungx000D
nodules. This imaging modality, called optical coherence tomography autofluorescencex000D
imaging (OCT-AFI) can image changes in the composition and structural features of lungx000D
tissue that occur in early lung cancer.x000D
The goal of this proposal is 1) to further develop innovations to improve the resolution andx000D
contrast in OCT-AFI 2); to enable reflectance and narrow-band imaging via the samex000D
catheter; 3) to miniaturize the catheters further (<0.5mm) to allow access to even smallerx000D
airways; and 4) to develop methods for quantifying lung tissue features. These innovationsx000D
should increase the ability to locate lung nodules in almost all areas of the lungs. This nextgenerationx000D
endoscopic imaging instrument will be tested in a small study population.x000D
The research team comes from diverse backgrounds with extensive experience developingx000D
clinically proven optical imaging devices, and a wealth of clinical research history in thex000D
diagnosis and management of lung cancer. This research has great potential to affect clinicalx000D
practice to improve patient care in Canada and worldwide by providing a sensitive andx000D
accurate instrument for locating early lung cancer.x000D