Raman Spectrometry and Laser Ablation as a Minimally Invasive, Molecularly Guided Therapy for Cancer

City of Hope Engineering, 2017-18

Liaison(s): Dr. Yuman Fong, Dr. Veronica Jones, Dr. Lily Lai, Dr. Dan Schmolze
Advisor(s): Phil Cha, Michael Storrie-Lombardi
Students(s): Ragini Kothari (TL-S), Viviana Bermúdez Reyes (TL-F), Jenny Smith, Youkang Shon, Dominique Mena

The 2017-18 COH-Raman team aimed to reduce the collection time for Raman spectra of breast tissue to 1-3 seconds. This spectral database was analyzed using machine learning algorithms to display the probability of breast cancer. The spectral analysis is driven by understanding the bio-chemical markers that are evident in each unique Raman spectrum. The team also investigated Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to enhance the Raman spectra. Additionally, the team worked on combining Raman diagnostics with laser ablation treatment.