Improved Cancer Diagnosis with Hand-held Device & Smartphone Technology

in Blog
February 28th, 2011

The traditional method of diagnosing cancer is to extract a tissue sample surgically from a suspicious lump, which is then sent to a radiology department where they search for discrepancies in cell shape and tell-tale proteins. The results from these tests can take days, and makes the wait for patients and their families so much more agonizing. But this may all change with a new hand-held device.

Scientists and researchers from Harvard University, MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a mini nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanner that uses antibodies and magnetic particles to identify cancerous cells.  Small samples of cells are extracted with a needle from different parts of the tumor and are then labeled with magnetic particles. The samples are then fed into the mini NMR scanner, and in less than an hour, the samples are tested with nine protein markers for cancer cells. The results are read off of an application on a smartphone device or laptop computer and the combination of results from four protein markers leads to a diagnosis.

What makes this device even more remarkable is the accuracy. The tests and analyses were done for 50 patients and 48 of the 50 had an accurate diagnosis! Another test was done on 20 patients and produced 100% accuracy. With the standard pathology tests, the results are often 74 to 84% accurate.

With 25% of deaths in the U.S. being attributed to cancer, this is an amazing discovery! Let’s hope that this device is quickly implemented into the health care system and make the world cancer-free.

The portable NMR device & smartphone app. Image credit: R. Weissleder

For more info: 2011-02-smartphone-app-cancer-diagnosis.html

By Imaly Nanayakkara