Dr. Vosburgh is PI of Research Team that Wins SBIR Award

A research team whose principal investigator is Kirby G. Vosburgh, PhD, associate director of CIMIT, has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Cancer Institute.

Ascension Technology Corp., of Burlington, Vt., in collaboration with CIMIT, will receive the SBIR grant to support the evaluation of Ascension and CIMIT’s Image-Guided System that combines the results of magnetic tracking, pre-operative CT imaging, real-time ultrasound and optical imaging to guide the diagnosis and surgical treatment of pancreatic disease, including pancreatic cancer. Ascension is a world leader in magnetic 3D localization and guidance solutions for medical applications.

During Phase I of the project, Ascension developed the 3D guidance tracking hardware (flat transmitter and microminiaturized sensors for integration into an experimental imaging device). CIMIT incorporated the sensors into an image-guided laparoscope for displaying its location for image-guided cancer interventions.

Phase II began in early September and CIMIT researchers at two Boston hospitals will use the Image-Guided System in clinical trials during the next 18 months. Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital will evaluate the system in laparoscopic surgeries and gastroenterologists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital will evaluate the system’s use in endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsies. Some of the money will go directly to Christopher Thompson, MD, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, while other researchers have different sources of funding for their parts of the project.

The goal of the National Cancer Institute’s SBIR Grant Program is to engage domestic small businesses in research and development of novel technologies and products to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. CIMIT is aiding the Ascension effort.

Dr. Vosburgh said, “Ascension and CIMIT’s collaborative development of the Image-Guided System represents great synergy between the technology developers and medical researchers with the shared goal of improving cancer therapy for patients. Through this SBIR award, NCI recognizes the potential of this project to radically improve the use of minimally invasive systems for cancer patients and diagnosis.”