# Dual-wavelength endoscopic Raman probe for eosinophilic esophagitis

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $389,733

## Abstract

Project Summary
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the esophagus, and one of the most
common causes of vomiting, feeding and swallowing difficulties, including esophageal food impaction in children.
EoE is difficult to diagnose and distinguish from other common esophageal diseases in real-time using white
light endoscopic imaging of the esophagus conducted via an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedure.
Therefore, clinicians rely on multiple random esophageal biopsies which is obtained during this procedure for
histologic confirmation (gold standard). However, since EoE is a patchy disease even the multiple biopsies may
not yield accurate results. This can lead to a delay in diagnosis and ineffective treatment, and result in
preventable complications such as esophageal remodeling requiring surgical interventions. As such there is an
urgent need to develop alternative diagnostic tools which can quickly survey more regions of the esophagus, in
situ, and provide tissue-specific inflammatory biomarker information for real-time identification of EoE. Raman
spectroscopy (RS) is one such technology that can provide a solution as it relies on light interaction with
molecules to provide a unique “fingerprint” of the biochemical and molecular composition of a specimen within
seconds. Therefore, RS via an endoscope is uniquely suited for real-time biochemical assessment of active EoE.
This proposal, presents the development and assessment of a depth specific dual-wavelength Raman
endoscope to characterize both biochemical and water changes within the esophagus as it relates to active EoE.
To accomplish these goals, Raman biomarkers will be characterized and identified spatially and correlated with
known biomarkers of EoE in vivo as well as ex vivo. Computational modeling will be performed using a modified
Monte Carlo simulation to optimize probe design based on tissue optical properties. Ex vivo non-linear imaging
coupled with Raman maps will be performed on a subset of biopsies, obtained during the EGD procedures, to
further study the spatial distribution of key biomarkers and help guide the endoscopic Raman probe design. This
probe will be evaluated using optical tissue phantoms and in vivo patient measurements. Finally, a machine
learning classification algorithm will be optimized and evaluated to provide a mechanism by which in vivo RS
spectra can be classified into active EoE, inactive EoE, GERD (i.e., acid reflux disease) and other non-EoE
control. Furthermore, we aim to track patient’s response to treatment and assess Raman spectral changes over
time to determine the feasibility of using RS to provide a predictive treatment outcome model.
The successful completion of this proposal will yield a novel diagnostic tool for real-time detection and monitoring
of EoE in pediatric cases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10843908
- **Project number:** 5R01DK132338-03
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anita Mahadevan-Jansen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $389,733
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10843908

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10843908, Dual-wavelength endoscopic Raman probe for eosinophilic esophagitis (5R01DK132338-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10843908. Licensed CC0.

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