The Diagnostic Accuracy of the Device Under Development MULTISCOPE (MULTISCOPE)

September 15, 2026 updated by: Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

In Vitro Pilot Study to Assess the Diagnostic Accuracy of the Device Under Development MULTISCOPE

Conventional gastrointestinal endoscopy relies on ex vivo histopathology, a process limited by diagnostic delays and high costs. The MULTISCOPE project introduces a miniaturized (2.2 mm) endoscopic device integrating advanced optical biopsy with Cold Argon Plasma (CAP) therapy. Utilizing multimodal optical fibers, the system performs label-free, high-resolution imaging via two-photon autofluorescence and second-harmonic generation.

Simultaneously, the integrated CAP technology enables targeted oncological treatment by inducing apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest with minimal collateral damage. Given that Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) inherently provides samples containing both neoplastic and healthy margins (5-8 mm safety zone), this platform allows for precise, real-time tissue characterization. This in vitro pilot study evaluates the system's diagnostic accuracy in discriminating between healthy and neoplastic colorectal tissues.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Colonic or rectal neoplastic lesions resectable by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD)
  • Age ≥ 18 years, male and female
  • patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grades 1-3
  • Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe medical comorbidities precluding endoscopy;
  • Uncontrolled coagulopathy;
  • Pregnancy or planned pregnancy during the period of study participation;
  • Life expectancy ≤2 years, as judged by the site investigator;
  • Refusal to sign the informed consent.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Patients who require endoscopy with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of the colon.
Thirty consecutive colorectal specimens resected via endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) will be analyzed. Each specimen serves as an internal control, comprising both central neoplasia and healthy peripheral margins ("fried-egg" morphology). To ensure maximum accuracy with this novel device, optical biopsies will be performed on both tissue types immediately prior to formal histopathological fixation. ESD procedures will be conducted at the Agostino Gemelli Foundation, while optical and histopathological analyses will be centralized at the Catholic University of Rome (UCSC).
Procedure: endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD)

Protocol and Transport Colorectal ESD specimens will be resected at the Fondazione Gemelli IRCCS and immediately transported dry (without formalin) to the UCSC Pathological Anatomy Unit within 15 minutes. To ensure tissue viability, dedicated staff will coordinate the transfer directly from the endoscopy suite.

Ex Vivo Analysis The MULTISCOPE device will be stationed at the UCSC facility, adjacent to the pathology lab. Upon arrival, Prof. Vincenzo Arena's team will perform multimodal fiberoptic optical biopsies on both healthy and neoplastic mucosa before proceeding with standard histopathological processing.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diagnostic Accuracy (Area Under the ROC Curve [AUC]) of the MULTISCOPE Device for Differentiating Normal versus Neoplastic Colorectal Tissue
Time Frame: At the time of histopathological evaluation, approximately 2 weeks after the surgical procedure.

The diagnostic accuracy of optical biopsies performed with the two-photon microendoscope MULTISCOPE prototype will be assessed and compared against standard ex vivo histopathology (gold standard) as the reference diagnosis.

Diagnostic performance will be evaluated based on the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC). Optimal sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) with 95% confidence intervals will also be calculated using the Youden Index threshold. AUC values range from 0.5 (no discrimination) to 1.0 (perfect diagnostic accuracy).
At the time of histopathological evaluation, approximately 2 weeks after the surgical procedure.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tumor Cell Destruction Rate After Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) Exposure
Time Frame: Up to 12 months (at the end of the study).
The therapeutic efficacy of MULTISCOPE expressed as the proportion of treated/affected cells after CAP exposure, quantified in commercial gastrointestinal tumor organoids.
Up to 12 months (at the end of the study).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: IVO BOSKOSKI, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

November 2, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 2, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 22, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 8118 (Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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