Adaptive imaging to map cancer tissues with highly multiplexed 3D profiles
Official title: Adaptive imaging for pioneering multiplexed spatial profiling of tumors and tissues for cancer research and diagnosis
Funded at Rarecyte, INC. · NIH-11332255 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new imaging method to capture highly detailed, multi-marker pictures of tumors and surrounding tissue to help doctors diagnose and plan cancer treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rarecyte, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2025 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $658,336 |
| NIH project number | 5R44CA298064-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11332255 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are individuals with cancer whose tumor samples are routinely collected for pathology and could be analyzed with FFPE tissue sections.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tissue samples are not available or suitable for high-plex imaging may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
This project aims to build and test an advanced imaging system that can image tumor tissues in three dimensions and analyze many protein markers at once. By using AI to pick the most informative regions to image, the method should produce richer tissue maps from standard FFPE samples. The effort focuses on combining high-plex tissue imaging with machine learning to generate spatial profiles that could improve diagnosis and treatment decisions. The work will advance the Orion2 platform to acquire deeper, more informative images while maintaining compatibility with routine pathology workflows.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could receive more precise cancer diagnoses and personalized treatment plans based on detailed tissue maps.
How similar studies have gone: Previous high-plex imaging approaches have shown promise, and this project extends an existing platform to 3D and attention-guided imaging, representing a novel integration.
Where this research is happening
-
Rarecyte, INC.
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: George, Tad — Rarecyte, INC.
- Study coordinator: George, Tad
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.