Detection of Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Children
The objective of this project is to identify biomarkers associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in pediatric patients and develop a rapid diagnostic device to detect this disease in a clinical setting. The goal is to use Raman spectroscopy (RS) to identify key biochemical features of inflammation relating to active versus inactive EoE, in real-time in vivo, for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment. Specifically, we seek to: (1) characterize biochemical features associated with EoE using Raman spectroscopy, in vitro and in vivo,
(2) detect and distinguish active vs. inactive EoE in pediatric patients using Raman spectroscopy, and (3): design a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based platform to identify salivary biomarkers relating EoE. Biochemical characterization of inflammation relating to EoE will be achieved using RS. Biopsy and saliva samples from pediatric patients will be evaluated to identify healthy vs EoE (active/inactive). A portable RS system will be design for assess EoE, in vivo, in clinical applications.
Researchers
Faculty
Students
- Zeke Haugen
Collaborators
- Girish Hiremath, Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital
Publications