Researchers land $1.4M for cancer, smart home

PULLMAN — Two WSU scientists have been awarded grants from the state’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund, for their efforts to improve early detection of prostate cancer and enable people with physical or mental impairment to live independently.

 

The winning proposals were among six selected from 86 proposals submitted by researchers across the state. All proposals were evaluated and ranked by a panel of scientific experts convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The awards were announced Aug. 5.

 

 

WSU chemist Clifford Berkman was awarded $679,964 for his project, “Chemoaffinity agents for the detection of prostate cancer,” which is designed to demonstrate a new approach to imaging prostate tumors.

 

Early detection of prostate cancer and tumor metastasis is critical to successful treatment, but accurate and reliable imaging techniques for diagnosis remain a challenge. Berkman’s research team will image prostate tumors in animal models using radioactively-labeled inhibitors of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a marker of prostate cancer. The team’s objective is to lay the groundwork for the development of a new diagnostic tool for prostate cancer based on single-photon emission-computerized tomography.

 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with incidence rates in Washington ranking 15 percent above the national average. This project could lead to better outcomes for patients in the state through earlier diagnosis and improved targeted treatment therapies.

 

 

 

WSU computer scientist Diane Cook was awarded $790,906 for her project, “Smart home-based health platform for functional monitoring and intervention,” which aims to create a “smart” home environment that will enable individuals with cognitive or physical limitations to function independently and remain in their own homes.

By 2040, nearly one quarter of the U.S. population will be 65 years of age or older, and many of those older citizens will require some type of monitored living arrangement. A “smart” environment is one that is equipped with low-cost sensors that provide alerts and reminders for elderly or disabled residents to ensure they are adequately caring for themselves. In an experimental “smart home” environment, the research team will use special sensors to monitor whether activities of daily living are being adequately performed, and whether such monitoring provides a basis for effective interventions using reminders and automated assistance.

In 2005 Washington state had several hundred thousand individuals being cared for in nursing homes at a total cost of about $94 million per day, not including assisted care or veterans’ facilities. If “smart home” technology allows just ten percent of those individuals to live at home, it could save Washingtonians approximately $9.4 million a day or $3.4 billion a year.