Bioengineers make cancer detector from digital camera
In the spirit of do-it-yourselfer Mark Frauenfelder, Rice University bioengineers have jury-rigged a cancer-detection device from a $400 digital camera and a bundle of fiber-optic cables.
The team, who published their results yesterday in the journal PLoS One, tested three tissue sample types: cancer cell cultures that were grown in the lab, tissue from excised oral tumors and healthy tissue viewed in the mouths of study subjects. (Tissues were treated with a common fluorescent dye, which caused cell nuclei to glow when lighted with the tip of the fiber-optic bundle.) In all cases, they were able to easily distinguish precancerous and cancerous cells from healthy ones simply by viewing the LCD monitor on the camera.
Said study co-author Mark Pierce, PhD:
“The dyes and visual techniques that we used are the same sort that pathologists have used for many years to distinguish healthy cells from cancerous cells in biopsied tissueBut the tip of the imaging cable is small and rests lightly against the inside the cheek, so the procedure is considerably less painful than a biopsy and the results are available in seconds instead of days.”
Because the device is so cheaply constructed, the researchers say it is well suited for use in countries or regions where conventional diagnostic technology is too expensive.
Photo by BigTallGuy
June 26th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
You have by now no doubt noticed that the photo of the digital camera has been flipped.
June 26th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
“use in countries where conventional diagnostics are too expensive.” pretty much fits the situation everywhere, including the US, unless the medical establishment is so arrogant as to believe inexpensive but workable technology producing the same results is beneath them.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
“… use in countries or regions where conventional diagnostic technology is too expensive.”
Welcome to Obamacare country, circa 2015.
June 27th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
“Because the device is so cheaply constructed, the researchers say it is well suited for use in countries or regions where conventional diagnostic technology is too expensive.”… This is exactly why the cost of healthcare in the US continues to soar. The makers of conventional diagnostic technology have captured the regulatory agencies and erected barriers to entry that prevent the inexpensive technology from entering the marketplace. Its simple econ 101 – supply and demand. More and cheaper supply = lower prices. Barriers to entry = higher prices.
June 28th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Mr. Pratt,
Perhaps by now you have realized that the photograph was taken in a mirror.
September 11th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
I’ve continuously felt that you just recuperate photos out of a “normal size camera” as opposition these small ones that slot in your pocket. whereas I still feel that means, i have to say that up to now i’m happy with this Coolpix L2