DiCECT

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  An Investigation into Dielectric Assessment of Permittivity of Cancer in Human Using a Novel Electrical Capacitance Tomography Scanner

• IRAS ID

  319725

• Contact name

  Adrian Lim

• Contact email

  a.lim@imperial.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Zedsen Limited

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 1 months, 12 days

• Research summary

  Permittivity is the measure of a material’s ability to store electrical energy in the electric field. Different materials are known to have different permittivity including the human body. Research is looking into utilising permittivity differences in the human body to detect cancer. There is a particular focus in breast cancer because it is the most common type of cancer in women globally, and research has shown that permittivity of healthy breast tissue is different to cancer tissue. Furthermore, breast tissue can be easily accessible by non-invasive means and has well-established tools available to support cancer detection. However, results from many studies vary greatly and more research is needed to understand how permittivity can be used in cancer research. Zedsen Limited has developed a permittivity measuring device (Z-scanner) capable of measuring a material’s permittivity. The purpose of this study is to establish the permittivity of healthy, benign, and cancer tissue associated with the Z-scanner.
  90 women attending a routine screening assessment clinic or a one stop clinic at Charing Cross Hospital will be recruited over the course of a year. The study is split into 2 parts. Part A will recruit 20 participants to assess whether scanner results can be repeated and reproduced by different users and hardware. Part B will recruit 70 participants to assess whether the Z-scanner can differentiate between benign and cancerous lesion. All participants will have both their breasts scanned using the Z-scanner during their routine appointment. This allows us to investigate the ability of the Z-scanner to identify and differentiate benign and cancerous lesions from healthy breast tissue based on permittivity. Results from this study can further our understanding on how permittivity and such devices can be used in cancer research.

• REC name

  London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  23/PR/0535

• Date of REC Opinion

  23 Jun 2023

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion