This lack of communication changed a few years ago when Rosin broached the subject to Dr. Calum MacAulay, the head of the British Columbia Cancer Research Center's cancer imaging program and who has extensive training in physics, pathology, and engineering imaging devices. Based on these discussions, MacAulay and post-doctoral fellow Pierre Lane agreed to begin the technologically challenging process of designing a hand-held device that also would be user friendly in the dentist's office.

Starting with a crude, light-emitting box and a pair of goggles that their group had previously cobbled together to visualize skin cancer, Lane and MacAulay gradually progressed to the one-step device reported today. "We essentially refined and integrated the box-and-goggles concept into one device," said MacAulay, who also works closely with a corporate partner that would like to commercialize the VELScope. "The box was molded into the lightweight, hand-held structure, a flexible cord attaches the examination light, and the goggles became the view finder that allows dentists to directly evaluate lesions in real time."


In their study, the scientists evaluated 50 tissue sites from 44 people. All sites were biopsied, and pathologists classified seven as normal, 11 had severe dysplasia, and 33 biopsies were oral squamous cell carcinoma. Reading the fluorescence patterns of the 50 sites, the group correctly identified all of the normal biopsies, 10 of the severe dysplasias, and all of the cancers. These numbers translated to 100 percent specificity and 98 percent sensitivity. Specificity refers to how well a test correctly identifies people who have a disease, while sensitivity characterizes the ability of a test to correctly identify those who are well.

Rosin said her group is now engaged in a larger follow-up study in Vancouver that will further evaluate the VELScope. "Laboratories are developing similar devices to detect lung and cervical cancer," said Rosin. "That means that the same basic technology is now being used to evaluate three tumor sites, and we can begin hopefully to pool our data and fine tune the characteristics and meaning of the changes in fluorescence."

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated last year that about 20,000 Americans were diagnosed with various oral cancers. The ACS also estimated that just over 5,000 Americans died from these cancers in 2005.

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research is the nation's leading funder of research on oral, dental, and craniofacial health. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

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