Dr. Arash Momeni and Team Awarded 2025 Women’s Cancer Innovation Award

The Stanford Women’s Cancer Center, part of the Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI), has granted Dr. Arash Momeni, a member of the SCI, $50,000 through the 2025 Under One Umbrella-Women’s Cancer Innovation Award. This funding, made possible by Under One Umbrella philanthropic activities, will support their research project titled "Novel Transcutaneous Spectrophotometry Device for Reconstructive Flap Monitoring."

The project addresses a critical need in breast and oncologic surgery, where free tissue transfer is essential for reconstruction. Vascular compromise remains the leading cause of flap loss (the failure of transferred tissue to survive due to inadequate blood supply), often resulting in significant complications for patients. Current monitoring methods rely on clinical examination, a subjective and non-continuous approach that can delay the detection of complications and necessary interventions.

"This project embodies the intersection of innovation and equity in reconstructive surgery, leveraging cutting-edge technology to create a continuous, objective, and accessible method for post-surgical monitoring. By addressing disparities in care and enhancing global access, it holds the promise to redefine standards in complex reconstruction for patients everywhere.” explained Dr. Momeni. 

The team will be led by third-year resident Dr. C. Sierra Stingl. They have developed a novel device called transcutaneous porphyrin spectrophotometry (TPS), building on established spectrophotometry techniques used to measure hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.

This new device aims to:

• Provide a continuous, objective method for monitoring reconstructive flaps.

• Reduce ethnic disparities in free flap survival rates.

• Enhance access to reconstructive care in rural and resource-limited settings.
   

The team’s motivation stems from the need to improve post-surgical monitoring for reconstructive surgery patients. Current methods require intensive staffing and prolonged hospital stays, creating barriers to care. The TPS device is designed to address these challenges by enabling earlier hospital discharge, reducing staffing ratios, and providing effective monitoring across all skin types. The ultimate goal is to make complex reconstructive procedures more accessible, especially in underserved regions.

"This technology has the potential to transform post-surgical monitoring from a subjective, resource-intensive process into an objective, continuous, and accessible standard of care that works for all patients," Dr. Stingl stated.

The $50,000 award will support critical engineering validation testing. This funding will help advance the TPS device from prototype to clinical application, ensuring it meets the needs of diverse patient populations while addressing economic and social barriers to care.

Dr. Stingl, who conceived the idea for the device, collaborated with private engineers to develop the initial prototype. The multidisciplinary team includes clinical representatives and software and electrical engineers working to improve the device’s stability, data accuracy, and biological variability interpretation. They have also partnered with local breast cancer survivor advocacy organizations, such as the Breast Science Advocacy Core of the Breast Oncology Program at UCSF, to promote inclusive research practices.