Grad student invents oral-cancer screening device, tests it internationally

Grad student invents oral-cancer screening device, tests it internationally

BY SHAWN HUTCHINS
Special to the Rice News

Mohammed Rahman, a bioengineering graduate student, is spearheading an international project to evaluate a screening device for oral cancer that he helped design and submitted for patent while at Rice.

The device, called the portable screening system (PS2), is an inexpensive, battery-operated optical instrument that uses principles of fluorescence imaging to distinguish between normal and precancerous tissue.

MOHAMMED RAHMAN

The PS2 uses light-emitting diodes and a miniature camera to generate and detect the autofluorescence signals of biomarkers found in relatively high amounts in oral cavity tissue. The PS2 can help dentists and surgeons in tissue biopsy and in tumor detection.

Rahman’s nine-month research internship, which is funded by a 2007-2008 Whitaker International Fellows Grant, is part of a collaborative effort among Rice’s Department of Bioengineering, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India.

“This is a very exciting opportunity in my Ph.D. pursuit,” wrote Rahman in an e-mail from Mumbai. “Not only did I design a biomedical instrument in the Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Laboratory, but I also have the chance to test it in a real clinical setting where oral cancer is prevalent.”

Rahman, a U.S. citizen born in Bangladesh, chose to conduct the study in India because Tata Memorial Hospital is the largest cancer institution in south Asia, and India and its neighboring countries have the highest incidence rates for many acute and chronic diseases, including oral cancer.

“The fellowship is ideal for my future goals to conduct research, promote technology transfer and bridge the health disparity that exists in the region,” said Rahman.

Rahman works under the supervision of Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor, chair of the Bioengineering Department and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Ann Gillenwater, associate professor and associate surgeon of head and neck surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.