Descrizione del progetto
Sfruttare un tipo di esame oculistico per la diagnosi del cancro alla prostata
La tomografia ottica a radiazione coerente (OCT, Optical Coherence Tomography) è una tecnica di imaging usata per fotografare la parte posteriore dell’occhio. Il progetto PROCT, finanziato dal Consiglio europeo della ricerca, intende sfruttare tale metodo per diagnosticare il cancro alla prostata. Poiché le biopsie prostatiche attuali sono pratiche invasive, soggettive e a rischio di errore umano, il cancro alla prostata viene spesso diagnosticato in modo errato. L’OCT permette invece di visualizzare il tessuto prostatico senza effettuare esami fisici. La tecnica di imaging sviluppata dal progetto sarà semi-automatica, e le immagini saranno analizzate dall’intelligenza artificiale. I partner di PROCT convalideranno a livello preclinico questo approccio innovativo, che intende migliorare la gestione della malattia e la qualità di vita dei pazienti.
Obiettivo
With 1.3 million new cases worldwide, prostate cancer (PC) is the second most common cancer in men, causing more than 350,000 deaths each year. It is so common that about 1 man in 8 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. As for any degenerative disease, early diagnosis is crucial to improve patients’ quality of life and reduce the mortality rate. However, the gold standard technique (biopsy) is affected by large diagnostic errors, representing a major limitation to achieve adequate management of PC.
The PROCT project aims to validate in pre-clinical stage a semiautonomous robotic approach to PC diagnosis based on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), which aims to exactly pinpoint the target lesion and analyse it through an AI and robotic-based imaging setup. This can comprehensively visualize the lesions at the microscopic level in vivo, without taking any physical sample of the prostate. The resulting virtual microscope slide will allow urologists to explore and analyse various suspicious areas in the same procedure without the need to rely on the physical examination of the biopsy samples.
PROCT is a paradigm shift in PC biopsy, that is poised to turn a subjective and operator-dependent procedure into a safer and more accurate diagnostic tool. This solution is obtained by merging the AI-based target identification with robotic pointing developed in the previous PoC project PROST with a micro-optical coherence tomography sensor capable to acquire images of the prostate through a needle at cellular-level resolution.
The PROCT prototype will be laboratory validated and benchmarked to assess its usability and real time capabilities. It will be also tested and validated on ex-vivo animal tissues and in the cadaver laboratory.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsIstituzione ospitante
37129 Verona
Italia