Photoacoustic Imaging Contrast for Early Detection of Cancers

Created by: Shrishti Singh, Postdoctoral Fellow at George Mason University

23 backers contributed $ 1,644.13 to help bring this project to fruition.

Latest update: January 2024

🏆  Recipient of a $250 award from WeSci's Women in STEM Fund

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About this project

The technology I have developed is a contrast agent for photoacoustic imaging that is easy and economical to synthesize, is biofriendly, can create high resolution images of deep tissues, has tunable sizes in the nanometer scale and can be designed to target different types of tumors. This agent has high optical absorption in the near-infrared range and produces acoustic signals which are detected using an ultrasound transducer, the main principle of photoacoustic imaging. It can create images of organs such as liver and spleen with 2.5 times greater contrast than the background. Thus, this designer contrast agent technology aims to solve an unmet market need in the field of tumor imaging and diagnosis.

Recognitions & Awards

Dr. Shrishti Singh’s technology is a recipient of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Cooperation Seed Fund. It was also recently selected as a part of the 64 best technologies in the United States by STAT News and was featured as a part of the STAT Madness 2023 competition sponsored by Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Sing is also the recipient of the ABioM 2023 Graduate Student Research Award, organized by the Biomedical Engineering Society. Her research has also received the NSF I-Corp Regional Fund of $3K towards commercialization transitioning of the contrast agent.

Learn more about Shrishti’s journey & achievements here

Project inspiration

“When I was in my teens, my mom walked up to me one day with swollen breasts. We were poor with no means of accessing yearly mammograms, but when her breasts swelled, we knew it was time to visit the doctors. They asked her for a mammogram, which was expensive and a burden to my family. After mammography, her results were inconclusive. The doctors saw a mass of growth but were not completely sure if it was benign or malignant because my mom's breasts were too dense. Multiple imaging sessions and doctor visits were needed to image the tumor properly. She ultimately needed surgery to excise enough tissue for a biopsy. It was a time of extreme stress for my family. I know many women like my mom who cannot afford multiple imaging sessions, and their time might run out if their tumors are not diagnosed early. This is the motivation and passion behind my work and why I am pushing towards its clinical translation.”

- Shrishti Singh, PhD

Total cost of bringing this project to fruition is $10,000

*Graph amounts in USD

Meet the scientists!

Dr. Shrishti Singh

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
George Mason University

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Bioengineering
George Mason University

Dr. Singh received her PhD in Bioengineering from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in December 2022. Her PhD focused on the development of an imaging contrast agent for imaging of early-stage tumors, for which she holds a US utility patent. Her work with Dr. Remi Veneziano, Principal Investigator, has receivd a seed fund from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Cooperation. With her entrepreneurial streak, Shrishti has participated in the regional entrepreneurship program and plans on taking her life-saving innovation to market.

Dr. Remi Veneziano

Dr. Veneziano is the Principal Investigator on this project.

Dr. Veneziano is also an Assistant Professor at the Bioengineering Department at George Mason University. His research specializes in self-assembly of nanoscale platforms to solve biomedical challenges.

Dr. Parag Chitnis

Dr. Chitnis is a collaborator & advisor on this project.

Dr. Chitnis’ research specializes in high-frequency ultrasound imaging, targeted drug delivery and photoacoustic imaging (PAI).

Elizabeth Pyle

Ms. Pyle is a life-science Business Mentor for George Mason University’s Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP).

She is working closely with the team to develop the business model and commercialization plan for the contrast agent.

About the lab

The Veneziano’s Lab works on developing platform technologies composed of nanoscale technologies for different applications such as tissue engineering, biomedical imaging, and vaccines.

The main goal of Dr. Remi Veneziano’s laboratory is to investigate fundamental questions about the role of Bio-macromolecules nanoscale organization in cell membrane interaction. The team is developing biomimetic, DNA-based nanoarchitectures to examine the role of antigen valency and organization in B-cell activation, which will aid the development of novel, efficacious vaccines. They= are also designing nanoparticles and nanostructured hydrogels that mimic the presentation of virus targeting moieties for the efficient delivery of various therapeutic cargos, and for control of cell behavior.