# Spectro-Holographic Instrument for Dynamic Sensing of Cancer Progression

> **NIH NIH R01** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $1

## Abstract

Project Summary
In this application we propose to develop a native contrast optical spectroscopic sensing approach that
identifies and characterizes subcellular structures and quantifies their properties when cells undergo pre-
cancerous alterations, by using light scattering spectra as native optical biomarkers. Such a technique
would enable simultaneous labeling of large number of subcellular and subnuclear structures without the
use of stains and would be of great value for studying early cancer progression. The absence of stains
also makes such methods easy to implement in time-course cancer progression studies and would be
amenable for in vivo observations in humans.
 Although cellular alterations in organelle and nuclear structure are readily observed and studied
in cancer, there are fundamental limitations in existing imaging techniques that prevent the study of very
early stage pre-cancerous alterations. In contrast to dysplastic cellular alterations such as nuclear
enlargement and organization, the earliest stages of carcinogenesis have much more subtle alterations
that are not easily discernible with standard microscopy techniques. Perhaps the most often used
imaging tool for observing cellular structure is fluorescence microscopy. It can achieve targeted contrast
for specific organelles or proteins, however imaging in live cells remains limited to just a few types of
fluorophores and therefore structure types. Although recently developed optogenetic methods and new
live cell fluorescent probes have significantly improved the utility of fluorescence in living systems, the
method is inherently limited to observing a few types of structures at relatively short time scales. An even
more substantial limitation of conventional optical imaging is that it is subject to the diffraction limit and
cannot discern the properties of cellular structures that are significantly smaller than a wavelength. On
the other hand, electron microscopy imaging methods are destructive, involve extensive manipulations
with the sample, and cannot be utilized in living systems. In order to overcome the limitations of both
methods, a technique that is based on an entirely different physical principle is required. This method
should ideally identify all important cellular structures in live cells, while simultaneously dynamically
quantifying their properties when cells undergo pre-cancerous alterations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10236304
- **Project number:** 5R01CA228029-04
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Lev T Perelman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10236304

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10236304, Spectro-Holographic Instrument for Dynamic Sensing of Cancer Progression (5R01CA228029-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10236304. Licensed CC0.

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