Phone-based tool to spot suspicious mouth and throat lesions early
Mobile phone-based deep learning algorithm for oral lesion screening in low-resource settings
This project creates a low-cost phone camera plus AI to help health workers in low-resource areas find suspicious mouth and throat lesions sooner.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11400218 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team will combine a low-cost mobile phone imaging device that uses polarized white light and autofluorescence with deep learning software to guide who needs follow-up. They will train and refine the AI using images from partner hospitals and field workers and adapt the system to run without internet access. Clinical validation will be done at partner sites including Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai and in community field clinics with non-expert health workers. The aim is to make it easier for community workers to flag lesions that need specialist referral.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people in low-resource communities who have visible mouth or throat sores, ulcers, lumps, or other suspicious oral lesions.
Not a fit: People without visible oral lesions, or those who already need biopsy or specialized treatment, may not get a definitive diagnosis or direct benefit from the screening tool alone.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help detect potentially cancerous oral lesions earlier and speed referral and treatment in places with limited specialist care.
How similar studies have performed: Preliminary work by the team showed a cloud-based algorithm improved sensitivity to 79% and specificity to 82%, but running similar AI on-device offline in low-resource settings is a newer, less-tested step.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rajadhyaksha, Milind — Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research
- Study coordinator: Rajadhyaksha, Milind
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 below.