# Coregistered Photoacoustic and Ultrasound Imaging for Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis and Risk Management

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $522,503

## Abstract

Co-registered photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging for non-invasive ovarian cancer diagnosis
 and risk management
Abstract
Worldwide, the estimated annual incidence of ovarian cancer is 204,000, with 125,000 deaths. Despite
advances in therapy, ovarian cancer remains the most deadly of the gynecological cancers. Less than
30% of women with advanced stage disease survive long-term. One of the reasons for the high fatality
rate is that more than 70% of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed with advanced disease.
Photoacoustic tomography is an emerging technology that maps tumor vasculature content and oxygen
saturation, which are functional biomarkers of malignant development. Using co-registered
photoacoustic tomography (PAT) and ultrasound (US), we have developed a new noninvasive
transvaginal imaging device for non-invasive diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Initial data have shown that
co-registered PAT/US identifies invasive epithelial ovarian cancers by demonstrating extensively
distributed and higher levels of relative total hemoglobin (rHbT) in the US-identified region of interest
(ROI), as compared with more scattered and lower levels of relative total hemoglobin in benign and
normal ovaries (p=0.01). PAT/US identifies invasive epithelial ovarian cancers, as well as non-invasive
borderline and stromal tumors, by differentiating the lower SO2 in the US-identified ROI from the higher
values in benign and normal ovaries (p=0.003).
In this proposed work, we will 1) optimize our co-registered photoacoustic and ultrasound system and
user interface, 2) develop and validate classification models using photoacoustic functional imaging
biomarkers, PAT/US spectral features, and the known biomarker CA125, and 3) develop light fluence
correction algorithms for quantitative photoacoustic imaging to characterize ovarian tissue vasculature.
We will prospectively assess the ability of co-registered PAT/US to assist conventional imaging for
more accurate diagnosis of ovarian cancers and reduction of benign surgeries, without compromising
cancer detection. We will also monitor a group of high-risk women to determine if co-registered
PAT/US can be used as a potential sensitive and specific screening tool to differentiate normal from
early angiogenesis changes of the malignant process. The successful completion of the project will
provide a means to improve the current clinical practice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10074548
- **Project number:** 5R01CA237664-02
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Matthew A Powell
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $522,503
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-01-01 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10074548

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10074548, Coregistered Photoacoustic and Ultrasound Imaging for Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis and Risk Management (5R01CA237664-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10074548. Licensed CC0.

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