Grad Student Invents Oral Cancer Screening Device, Tests It Internationally

By Shawn Hutchins

Imagine a battery-powered device that uses fluorescent imaging to detect oral cancer. Rice bioengineering graduate student Mohammed Rahman did, and now he is spearheading an international project to evaluate the device, which he helped design and submitted for patent while at Rice.

The device, called the Portable Screening System (PS2), is an inexpensive optical instrument that uses light-emitting diodes and a miniature camera to generate and detect the autofluorescence signals of biomarkers found in relatively high amounts in oral cavity tissue. The PS2 can help dentists and surgeons in tissue biopsy and tumor detection.

Rahman’s nine-month research internship, which is funded by a 2007–08 Whitaker International Fellows Award, is part of a collaborative effort among Rice’s Department of Bioengineering, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India.

“This is a very exciting opportunity in my Ph.D. pursuit,” Rahman said. “Not only did I design a biomedical instrument in the Spectroscopy and Optical Imaging Laboratory, but I also have the chance to test it in a real clinical setting where oral cancer is prevalent.”

A U.S. citizen born in Bangladesh, Rahman chose to conduct the study in India because Tata Memorial Hospital is the largest cancer institution in southern Asia, and India and its neighboring countries have the highest incidence rates for many acute and chronic diseases, including oral cancer.

“Not only did I design a biomedical instrument in the Spectroscopy and Optical Imaging Laboratory, but I also have the chance to test it in a real clinical setting where oral cancer is prevalent.”   -Mohammed Rahman


“The fellowship is ideal for my future goals to conduct research, promote technology transfer and bridge the health disparity that exists in the region,” said Rahman.

Rahman works under the supervision of Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor, chair of the Bioengineering Department and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Ann Gillenwater, associate professor and associate surgeon of head and neck surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.