New Research Publication: Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy for Intraoperative Oral Cancer Mucosal Margin Guidance

We are excited to announce the publication of a new article titled “Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy for Intraoperative Oral Cancer Mucosal Margin Guidance: Initial Results from a 104-Patient Cohort” in the American Journal of Otolaryngology. The paper was made available online on March 5, 2025.

This innovative paper highlights the promising role of elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS) as a real-time, non-invasive tool to guide head and neck surgeons during mouth cancer resections. The study builds upon previous pilot research conducted by our interdisciplinary team and includes novel artificial intelligence (AI) analysis techniques to further validate ESS’s potential in surgical practice.

The study involved a collaboration between several esteemed institutions and experts, including OTO-COATI lab faculty Drs. Krisciunas and Grillone, along with staff Lucas Berry, Gabriele Spokas, Devin Lucas, and student Mitali Sakharkar. In addition, the paper includes contributions from engineers at Boston University’s BMO lab (Drs. Rodriguez-Diaz, A’Amar, and Bigio), as well as head and neck surgeons from Boston Medical Center, the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, and Tufts Medical Center (Drs. Couey, Edwards, Sayre, Gooey, Hanks, O’Leary, and Tracy), and pathologists from Boston University (Drs. Lu, Pistey, and Zhao).

The research was made possible by a grant from the NIH. The results presented in this paper are a key part of the ongoing investigation into ESS’s potential as an adjunct tool to guide surgical margins in oral cancer resection, which could possibly reduce downstream patient morbidity.

You can read the full paper here. If you’re interested in learning more about the OTO-COATI lab’s research in this area, you can do so from our site’s research page.

We are excited to continue advancing this innovative technology, and we look forward to sharing more updates in the future.