Affordable camera-guided light treatment for early mouth lesions
Official title: A comprehensive platform for low-cost screening and image-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) of pre-malignant and malignant oral lesions in low resource settings
Funded at University of Massachusetts Boston · NIH-11312054 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project pairs a low-cost handheld mouth camera, cloud-based AI image reading, and a topical light-activated drug to find and treat early and pre-cancerous oral lesions, with a focus on low-resource settings.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Massachusetts Boston NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $549,428 |
| NIH project number | 7U01CA279862-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11312054 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with visible oral lesions, leukoplakia, erythroplakia, or other suspicious mouth lesions and those with early-stage oral cancer who can attend participating clinics, particularly in low-resource areas.
✕Less likely to help
People with advanced, deeply invasive oral cancers, lesions not reachable by the handheld device, or who cannot receive topical photosensitizers or light therapy are unlikely to benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
If you take part, a clinician will first use an easy-to-hold, low-cost imaging device to photograph areas inside your mouth and those images will be analyzed by an AI system in the cloud. A topical molecule that lights up under the camera and becomes active when exposed to light will be applied to suspicious areas so clinicians can see and target abnormal tissue. The same handheld system will deliver controlled light treatment (photodynamic therapy) to the marked spots while monitoring response in real time. The work is being done by U.S. and Indian clinical teams to create a simple screen-and-treat tool intended for clinics with limited resources.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable same-visit, low-cost detection and minimally invasive treatment of precancerous and early oral cancers where specialist care is scarce.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier UH2/UH3 pilot projects of the separate imaging and photodynamic therapy devices showed promise, but combining them into an AI-guided, integrated platform is a newer step.
Where this research is happening
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University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Celli, Jonathan P — University of Massachusetts Boston
- Study coordinator: Celli, Jonathan P
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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.