3T Technologies, LLC — Department of Health and Human Services STTR Phase I: NCI

Description

SummaryThe goal of this proposal is to develop and validate a cost effectiveeasy to use and fully integrated navigation system for needle placement during CT image guided cancer diagnosis and treatmentBackgroundAccurate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions depend on accurate needle insertionwhich is subject to the physicianandapos s visuospatial ability and experienceand could be difficult in certain tumor locationsMany publications agree that needle navigation systems could improve the targeting accuracy of CT imageguided needle insertions compared to the standard manual procedureHowevermany navigation systems on the market are too expensiveand some require standard needles to be modifiedincreasing costs furtherAdditionallysome greatly affect the procedural workflow and are not likely to be widely adopted in clinical practiceThereforewe propose a cost effectiveaccurateand easy to use needle navigation systemSignificancepeople died from cancer andmillion new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the U SinU Scancer care expenditures are expected to grow from $billion into $billion inHypothesesOur system will enable image guided cancer diagnosis treatment planning and procedure execution in a streamlined workflow with increased accuracyshortened procedure timeand reduced costInnovationWe will combine treatment planningneedle trackinginsertion navigationand targeting verification in one fully integrated system that is designed for use with CT guided percutaneous proceduresMethodologyIn preliminary workwe developed a compact needle clip tracker in collaboration with NIH and the University of GeorgiaWe then foundedT Technologies LLCwhich will further develop the design as well as license and commercialize the needle navigation systemSpecific AimDevelop software for treatment planning and needle navigationand evaluate the system using a human abdominal phantom modelMilestoneAchieve targeting accuracy of andltmmSpecific AimIntegrate the needle clip tracker with the software and evaluate the efficacy of the system with swine validation studiesMilestoneEvaluate targeting accuracy and clinical workflowTeamOur team is equipped with software and hardware expertise and excellent imaging infrastructureExpected Outcome ImpactOur system will provide a simplified clinical workflow for effective and accurate CT guided needle placementwhich will reduce problems associated with needle targeting errors such as misdiagnosisineffective treatmentinjury of critical anatomyand other side effectsThe relevance of this research to public health is the improvement of diagnostic and treatment outcomespatient quality of life post treatmentand the reduction of health care costs NarrativeNumerous medical proceduressuch as biopsybrachytherapy and various thermal ablation proceduresrely on accurate needle targeting to the tumorwhich could oftentimes be difficult for physicians to precisely execute even with image guidance and needle path planningA needle tracking and navigation system that uses visual and auditory guidance to help the physician match the needle s actual position to the pre planned path would help improve targeting precisionThe goal of this proposal is to develop an accurateeasy to usecost effective needle navigation system for accurate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions under CT guidance