Scientists have discovered a new way to detect all types of skin cancer in seconds.
Currently, 270,000 new cases of skin cancer in the UK each year are identified using microscopic devices and scans such as computed tomography (CT).
These scans use high-frequency radio waves (a type of radiation) to create detailed pictures of what’s happening inside your body, but they require a hospital visit and large equipment.
Although it can detect disease in its early stages, the high-frequency radio waves used in the scan can also damage healthy cells in the body. It is also time consuming and costly.
But now researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Glasgow have devised a different solution, which they say could revolutionize skin cancer diagnosis.
Scientists have discovered a new way to detect all types of skin cancer in seconds (stock image)
They have developed a sensor that uses less harmful low-frequency terahertz (THz) radiation, which is more accurate than using a microscope, more accurate and safer than a CT scan.
This is the same technology used in the next generation of 6G mobile phones.
While traditional scanning techniques build up images of tissue, THz scans look at how tissue responds to specific radio frequencies. This means that even small numbers of cancer cells can be identified, the researchers say.
They claim the new sensor can detect skin cancer “within seconds” and with “extraordinary sensitivity.”
In the future, it could be integrated into handheld devices to make diagnosis more convenient for patients at home.
In the study published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, scientists tested the sensor on 3D artificial skin to see if it could detect subtle changes in cells.
After exposing skin samples to terahertz radiation, they monitored the radio waves and found that cancer tissue reflected radio waves with three specific characteristics.
This is then input into a computer program, which creates a graph on the screen.
They have developed a sensor that uses less harmful low-frequency terahertz (THz) radiation, which is more precise than using a microscope, more accurate and safer than a CT scan (stock image)
This technology “allows us to more accurately distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells and measure tissue malignancy,” said Chore, a researcher at the Queen Mary School of Electronics and Computer Science who led the study. Dr. Nourinovin said.
In clinical testing, the sensor successfully differentiated between normal skin cells and basal cell carcinoma cells within 5 minutes.
Researchers say this ability to detect early cancer has tremendous potential to improve patient outcomes.
Professor Qamar Abbasi, co-director of the Communication Sensing and Imaging Hub at the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow, who took part in the study, said the new technology would help “people who cannot go to hospital or live in hospital. This could be particularly useful.” remote areas’.
He envisions using it to screen people for skin cancer. If cancer is found, further tests are required.
“The earlier skin cancer is diagnosed, the better the prognosis. This technology has the potential to save countless lives,” he added.
Commenting on the technology, Dr Hattie Brooks, research information manager at the charity Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Further research is needed before this biosensor can move from the lab bench to the bedside, but it will happen someday. “It’s exciting to see promising new innovations that may be possible.” Helping more people with some types of skin cancer get diagnosed at an earlier stage. ”
