Diagnosing Cancer in Minutes

Nov-11-14 By using light to identify cancer cells, a team from Fraunhofer has developed a prototype device able to detect prostate cancer in just minutes.

Unlike conventional procedures for cancer detection, the technology from Fraunhofer Institute requires no lengthy tissue preparations. Instead, the tissue sample is slipped into the device on a base plate, where it is subjected to a laser pulse. This pulse excites the fluorophores—molecules found in every human body that will glow for a short time when subjected to a particular light—and the rate that the glow decreases will vary depending on whether the sample is benign or malignant. With this in mind, the research team was able to determine a threshold for the rate of glow decay, and any samples that exceed the threshold are identified as cancerous. Once the diagnosis had been completed, the device informs the physician with a simple display.

Currently the device can only be used to diagnose prostate cancer. However, as scientists determine the threshold values for other types of tissue, they should be able to apply the technology to more situations.

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