Technologies

Biomedical imaging allows physicians to detect the onset of disease, injury and other disorders at an early stage, and to monitor their progression. UW-Madison researchers have developed an imaging method that may assist in diagnosing cancerous and precancerous conditions in breast tissue. Because breast cancer is frequently associated with the increased deposition of proteins, particularly collagen, in the extracellular matrix, the inventors developed three tumor-associated collagen signatures, or TACS, which provide novel markers for localizing and characterizing breast tumors.

To identify breast carcinomas, nonlinear optical microscopy is used to generate high resolution, 3-D images of a test tissue. The images are then analyzed to detect and characterize any TACS that may exist in the tissue. The degree to which the TACS are present correlates with the onset and progression of cancer, thus providing diagnostic information complementary to conventional diagnostic methods.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing an imaging method that may assist in diagnosing cancerous and precancerous conditions in breast tissue.