Cancer detection may have gotten a whole lot easier, faster and cheaper, with the help of a $400 digital camera attached to fiber-optic cables that allowed researchers and bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to discern healthy cells from diseased ones.
Scientists captured images of three kinds of cells -- lab-grown cancer cells, tissue samples from tumors and healthy cells viewed from the mouths of patients -- with fiber-optic cables attached to an Olympus E-330 camera and a fluorescent dye that lit up cell nuclei. Even on a 2.5-inch LCD screen, the distorted nuclei of cancer cells and pre-cancerous cells were easy to distinguish from healthy ones.
Interestingly, these techniques used by researchers to spot cancer cells are the same ones used for a long time by pathologists on biopsied tissues, though never before with a device that handy, portable and battery-powered. And, how nifty would it be for your oncologist to be able to spot cancer cells immediately or to track how responsive your body is to your current treatment regimen?
All the more reason to get more knowledgeable about the technology that, one day, may be a life-saver for you and yours.
Image source: Rice University
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