This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award to Therafluor Inc. provides $274,999 in funding to develop a multi-mode medical instrument for cancer diagnosis and treatment in companion animals. The project aims to create a low-cost instrument for use in veterinary clinics that can visualize, target, and effectively eliminate cancerous cells using a novel proprietary molecular therapeutic compound, silicon naphthalocyanine nanoparticle (SINC-NP). The technology development to be completed includes integrating light optics, mechanical and electronics design, and software engineering to develop an instrument capable of imaging both the visible spectrum and near-infrared wavelengths to differentiate cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. The instrument will also direct high-intensity radiation onto SINC-enabled cancerous tissue and measure the temperature to indicate when the targeted temperature has been reached for killing the cancerous tissue. This award reflects NSF's mission to advance science and technology research and innovation to address national challenges and has a targeted completion date of June 30, 2025.
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