Another measure of just how fast technology is racing to find solutions to vexing health issues hit home with me in a story about Dr. Jae Kwon, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Missouri who is developing a sensor that would provide a means for patients to test for cancer in the privacy of their homes.
This smaller than the diameter of a human hair device called an acoustic resonant sensor uses micro/nanelectromechanical systems to detect the presence of diseases like breast or prostate cancer in bodily fluids.
Potentially, this device can be integrated with similarly smaller circuits to create compact, stand-alone systems to screen for various multiple diseases. Another promising upside: Results could be detected almost immediately, perhaps reducing the need for other tests -- think painful biopsies -- that require longer waiting periods before outcomes are fully known.
Dr. Kwon received a $400,000 grant last year to continue his studies on this fledgling point-of-care sensor, so all of this news is a whole lot of potential with an even huger upside at the moment. Which begs the aforementioned question posed in the headline above, especially if you're not terribly fond of relying on technology to help you solve one more health problem. How do you feel about this potential breakthrough?
EurekAlert February 17, 2010
MU (University of Missouri) News Bureau February 17, 2010