Cervical Cancer: Equipment and a Dedicated Application Will Assist in Early Detection

Cervical cancer is considered the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, and the second most common among women in developing countries. The primary cause of cervical cancer is the HPV virus (Human Papillomavirus), which is contracted through sexual contact. The virus can stay in the body for many years without causing disease until it eventually leads the cervix cells to become cancerous.

Every year, about half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide, and about 50% of them die from the disease. According to data from the Israel Ministry of Health, as of 2022, cervical cancer accounted for 9.2% of new cancer cases in women and 2% of all cancer deaths. In 2018, 1,192 Israeli women were diagnosed with precancerous lesions and 251 women with invasive cervical cancer. In the same year, 96 women in Israel died from invasive cervical cancer.

Optimizing diagnosis

The chances of recovery from cervical cancer depend on the stage at which the disease is detected. It should be noted that men can also be carriers of the Papillomavirus – the primary cause of the disease. In the very early stages, the chances of survival are about 95%, but as the disease progresses, the survival rate decreases. Since most cervical tumors develop after precancerous changes, there is an opportunity to identify early changes and prevent the development of the disease. The main tool available today to address cervical cancer is early diagnosis through a Pap smear test (tissue sample from the cervix), after which in-depth tests are performed to detect the disease and its stages in patients. Surveys show that the Pap test has reduced the incidence of the disease in Israel and around the world by tens of percent.

"An abnormal Pap test requires diagnostic testing to identify the tumor, and at the moment there are several methods for early detection of cervical cancer, but they are not reliable enough," notes Prof. Ibrahim Abdulhalim, full professor in the Electro-Optics and Photonics Engineering Unit at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and who served as head of the Unit from 2007-2015.

According to him, "The most common method for detecting tumors in the cervix is called colposcopy, which is performed using a colposcope device (a type of microscope) that can magnify the cervical tissue between 10 to 40 times. This magnification makes it possible to detect even minute changes that cannot be seen by the naked eye during a routine gynecological examination. The examination is done remotely and in a non-invasive manner, during which a picture of the cervix is taken."

During the examination, the doctor uses preparations such as acetic acid or iodine solution, which cause visible changes in the appearance of suspicious tissues, making it easier to identify these phenomena. This means that pre-cancerous or cancerous tissue will be more easily observed during the examination. If the doctor identifies a suspicious area, a biopsy can be performed immediately – a small tissue sample is taken for further analysis. "Since this is a simple optical exam performed remotely, it is sometimes difficult to accurately diagnose the disease. This is where the company I head, Photo Liqsys, comes in, to optimize the colposcopy," explains Prof. Abdulhalim.

How does the optimization increase the colposcopy's accuracy?

"The application includes complementary functions for the colposcope, so that it is possible to produce images with different light wavelengths and polarizations, and also to receive information about the molecules specifically found in the cervix due to the tumor by optical spectroscopy. All this comprehensive data allows the doctor to more easily and accurately diagnose if there is indeed a cancerous tumor in the cervix and its size. Early detection of the disease is life-saving, since treatment in its early stages increases the patient's chances of survival."

High potential for success

The goal of PhotoliqSys, founded by Prof. Abdulhalim in 2018, was to promote the patents and developments in which Prof. Abdulhalim's research group worked in the fields of instrumentation and optical equipment. Over the years, Prof. Abdulhalim became the sole owner of the company. Currently, the main project in which PhotoliqSys is engaged is on developing a dedicated application for the early detection of cervical cancer, a project recognized by the Innovation Authority as having a high potential for success and therefore is receiving funding from the Authority as part of the Momentum Program. "In the past, we developed a similar application for detecting skin cancer, which was successfully implemented at Soroka Hospital," says Prof. Abdulhalim. "So from our perspective, the idea has very positive potential and we are currently busy building the first prototype of the application with trials to be conducted at Ichilov Hospital. We are also assisted by our business partners at the NorthMed Innovation Center and once the feasibility testing stages have been completed successfully, we will start extensive fundraising, and look toward the U.S., Europe, and other potential places worldwide."

PhotoliqSys
Year established: 2018
Founder: Prof. Ibrahim Abdulhalim (all patents and applications)
Team: Prof. Abdulhalim, Dr. Yael Raz, and Prof. Dan Grisaro from Ichilov Hospital – medical consulting and clinical trials, and NorthMed – business support
Field of activity: Development of an application for early detection of cervical cancer using multimodal colposcopy
Leading motto: Earlier and more accurate detection of tumors saves lives