AI-powered nanosensor to find cancer in saliva and blood
Official title: A miniaturized neural network enabled nanoplasmonic spectroscopy platform for label-free cancer detection in biofluids
Funded at University of California at Davis · NIH-11473214 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a small AI-powered sensor to read molecules in saliva or blood to spot head and neck cancer early.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California at Davis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Davis, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $85,653 |
| NIH project number | 3R01CA273253-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11473214 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people at risk for or diagnosed with head and neck cancer who can provide saliva or blood samples for testing and monitoring.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with cancers outside the head and neck region or whose tumors do not release detectable metabolites into saliva or blood may not directly benefit from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers are building a tiny, low-cost device that reads infrared molecular fingerprints from a drop of saliva or blood without extra chemicals. The sensor uses plasmonic nanostructures to boost signals and a neural network to recognize patterns tied to head and neck cancer. Over the grant period the team will refine the hardware, train the AI with clinical samples, and compare results to current diagnostic methods. The goal is a portable, label-free liquid biopsy that could be used in clinics or at the point of care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable quick, low-cost, non-invasive screening and monitoring of head and neck cancer using saliva or blood samples.
How similar studies have gone: Related methods like mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy have shown promise for detecting cancer biomarkers, but a miniaturized nanoplasmonic device with onboard AI for label-free liquid biopsy is largely novel and less tested in patients.
Where this research is happening
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University of California at Davis
Davis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gomez Diaz, Juan Sebastian — University of California at Davis
- Study coordinator: Gomez Diaz, Juan Sebastian
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.