New, Non-invasive Melanoma Scanner Shows Positive Results.
Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that often goes undiagnosed until long after the opportune moment. Why? Because the patient mentality of “it’s just a mole” (it almost always is) mixed with the pain, cost, and resource demands of a biopsy make detecting cancerous and skin spots a difficulty. This problem gains context with life expectancy dropping below 1 year, for people with melanoma who do not detect it early.
To help with this problem, researchers from the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) have developed a laser scanner which relies on Ramen spectroscopy to detect cancerous moles. Ramen spectroscopy determines properties about a substance by vibrations. The laser excites skin cells into vibrating and then measures the vibrations of the patch of skin, and looks for vibration signatures consistent with known samples of melanoma.
Results from initial trials are positive, with the scanner yielding accurate detection in a matter of seconds. FDA approval will take some time however, depending on the accuracy of the scanner; too many false-positives and false-negatives could incapacitate this new diagnostic tool with doubt. However, should it prove accurate enough, we will be one step closer to Dr. McCoy’s medical scanner (minus dispensing salt). Quick, non-invasive diagnostic tools are the holy grails of disease detection and prevention.
On a personal level, I’m excited to be in an age where these kinds of devices are coming into existence. Instrumentation may be where I track in Biomedical Engineering, because of the efficiency and prognosis of treatment offered by early detection. My father has had small bits of melanoma removed from his forehead. This is most likely due to him getting too much sun as a kid, but that means the capacity to develop it is there for me as well. And if not, there are a myriad of other things racing to kill me; every diagnostic tool is another weapon against the reaper.
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/32236/?p1=A3
To help with this problem, researchers from the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) have developed a laser scanner which relies on Ramen spectroscopy to detect cancerous moles. Ramen spectroscopy determines properties about a substance by vibrations. The laser excites skin cells into vibrating and then measures the vibrations of the patch of skin, and looks for vibration signatures consistent with known samples of melanoma.
Results from initial trials are positive, with the scanner yielding accurate detection in a matter of seconds. FDA approval will take some time however, depending on the accuracy of the scanner; too many false-positives and false-negatives could incapacitate this new diagnostic tool with doubt. However, should it prove accurate enough, we will be one step closer to Dr. McCoy’s medical scanner (minus dispensing salt). Quick, non-invasive diagnostic tools are the holy grails of disease detection and prevention.
On a personal level, I’m excited to be in an age where these kinds of devices are coming into existence. Instrumentation may be where I track in Biomedical Engineering, because of the efficiency and prognosis of treatment offered by early detection. My father has had small bits of melanoma removed from his forehead. This is most likely due to him getting too much sun as a kid, but that means the capacity to develop it is there for me as well. And if not, there are a myriad of other things racing to kill me; every diagnostic tool is another weapon against the reaper.
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/32236/?p1=A3
posted by Brian Moore at 8:37 PM
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