New Blood Scanner Detects Even Faint Indicators Of Cancer

December 3, 2008 by Bakkouz
Filed under Sci & Tech

A team led by Stanford researchers has developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival.

The system based on MagArray biodetection chips can find cancer-associated proteins in a blood serum sample in less than an hour, and with much greater sensitivity than existing commercial devices. In fact, the device, which uses magnetic nanotechnology to spot the cancer proteins, is tens to hundreds of times more sensitive, meaning the proteins can be found while there are relatively few of them in the bloodstream. The researchers reported their results in the Dec. 1 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

“This is essentially a proof-of-concept study showing that now we have a chip and a reader that can find multiple biomarkers in a sample at a concentration much lower than the standard that is commercially available,” said Shan Wang, a Stanford professor of materials science and of electrical engineering.

Wang is optimistic that the technology will someday save lives by detecting cancer early or by helping doctors select more effective therapy. “The earlier you can detect a cancer, the better chance you have to kill it,” he said. “This could be especially helpful for lung cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer, because those cancers are hidden in the body.”

Wang is a senior author of the paper, along with Stanford biochemistry and genetics Professor Ronald W. Davis of the Stanford Genome Technology Center, and UC Santa Cruz biomolecular engineering Professor Nader Pourmand.

The detector is able to detect many different kinds of proteins at the same time, which is important for two reasons, Wang said. First, researchers are still uncertain which cancer biomarkers are the best diagnostic indicators. Secondly, detecting multiple biomarkers simultaneously will allow a doctor to diagnose more specifically the kind of cancer a patient may have.

Wang says the handheld device could be the smallest protein array reader in the world.

-Read Full Article on Physorg.

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38 Comments On This Post:

Mel on Wed, 3rd Dec 2008 9:33 pm

I wonder if this new scanning technology works well and effieciently enough if one day everybody could quickly be scanned at their regular checkup once they reach a certain age.

Nizar on Thu, 4th Dec 2008 11:46 am

Good technology, I hope it will help cure cancer patients in their early stages one day!

P.S. I like your new theme, very neat and clean!

Bakkouz on Thu, 4th Dec 2008 1:50 pm

Thank you Nizar

marwa on Thu, 4th Dec 2008 4:13 pm

i adore technology

Hani Obaid on Fri, 5th Dec 2008 1:17 pm

Excellent, so the next step is a wand that cures the cancerous cells on waving it! Go Science!

car rental atlanta on Wed, 31st Dec 2008 6:14 pm

Wow! That’s so interesting! It’s amazing what technology can do!

Gute Appartements Berlin on Sun, 4th Jan 2009 4:53 pm

If this blood scanner prototype will push through, I think early detection of cancer will become easy and handy. Though I wonder if this device can produce accurate results.

Al Carmona on Mon, 5th Jan 2009 7:36 am

that’s amazing, lets end this horrible desease.

Tomatoes Fight Cancer on Tue, 6th Jan 2009 12:15 am

That is amazing…Early detection is the best cure!

cancer symptoms on Tue, 6th Jan 2009 6:34 pm

If this technique really work then i would say, its a great invention as it will be help to help thousand of lives by detecting cancer early if this machine is used in regular checkups

Mark @ anniversary gift ideas on Sat, 10th Jan 2009 5:08 am

This could be great! I just hope they can get it approved quickly so they can start saving lives.

Elexis-MBA admission essay on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 5:48 pm

I really do hope that this scanner will push through. I will be a big help in the fields of medicine. If cancer will be detected early, it means a great chance of survival for the cancer patients.

SEO Company on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 9:03 pm

Wow what a technology. Science is getting success day by day.

prevent cancer on Mon, 16th Feb 2009 1:25 pm

Excellent news! It helps to prevent some deadly diseases!

joe comp on Wed, 18th Feb 2009 2:20 pm

this could be good news for us.and i am sure that this technology will be use in the future.

Rebecca @ Excessive Sweating Blog on Sat, 21st Feb 2009 11:38 am

That’s really great news. Finally cancer can be detected at very early stages and can be cured. It is really a wonder what technology can do. With all the leaps it takes in the present world. Hopefully remedies and cures for other diseases could also be found very soon.

Gi-metoden on Mon, 23rd Feb 2009 3:20 pm

Great post.My eyes were glued to it from beginning to the end. This technology can make a huge difference. Detecting cancer at an early stage is very important in curing it. Thanks for sharing the information.

Slimming Tablets UK on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 9:11 am

Nice post. This is great. If this technology can detect cancer cells at an early stage it’s great news for us all. I hope they get the approval. Thanks for bringing us the information. Cheers mate !

Boka Konferens on Sat, 14th Mar 2009 1:48 pm

If cancer will be detected early, it means a great chance of survival

Sökoptimering on Sat, 14th Mar 2009 1:49 pm

I wonder if this device can produce accurate results.

Jacob Duchaine on Tue, 17th Mar 2009 6:44 am

Wow, all we need now is a cure and cancer will cease to be a threat.

Cure Sweaty Palms on Wed, 18th Mar 2009 2:38 pm

“the technology will someday save lives by detecting cancer”

This is defintely an advancement in cancer research. I guess the question is when will this device become readily available.

In the future they should be able to check for anything through both the blood and urine.

hair extensions on Mon, 23rd Mar 2009 2:46 pm

I have a friend who’s suffering from a brain tumor. I feel very sorry for her. She was very beautiful but now her hair is all shaved off. and now she wears a wig. I feel very sorry for her. This invention gives hope and in future there won’t be a lot of serious cancer patients.

Ardi@preventingdisease on Wed, 25th Mar 2009 7:50 am

I think it is amazing. so we can detect about cancer symptom and we can prevent it. Thanks

Jamil Wright on Sat, 28th Mar 2009 10:53 am

this device will really in avoiding diseases, like cancer at early stage! great job!

Jeff@Kids Guitars on Mon, 30th Mar 2009 6:46 pm

I really love the technology that we have nowadays. Nice one.

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Michigan on Tue, 31st Mar 2009 12:29 pm

What a technology for cancer Haters.

Pure Brazilian on Wed, 8th Apr 2009 3:31 pm

A great invention. I hope this will become more popular so we can diagnose cancer cells at a very early stage. Diagnosing cancer cells early is very important in curing. Thanks for sharing information.

Pam @ Soma Online on Thu, 9th Apr 2009 12:02 pm

Now that’s a really awesome product. If it really does what it says this will be the break through of the century. Thanks a bunch for the information. Cheers

Rose@Legal Articles on Thu, 23rd Apr 2009 11:24 pm

I love technology when it’s looking for ways to detect diseases faster so that treatment will be given at once. Cheers to everyone!

Odchudzanie Poznan on Fri, 24th Apr 2009 1:24 pm

Wow that simple? I hope it won’t be very expensive in the near future so that all hospitals can have it and all patients will be able to get checked.

Zyapa@nike dunks on Mon, 4th May 2009 4:16 pm

In these days, I am very close to one of my friends father and he is diagnosed with Colon Cancer. I am wondering if such indicators can detect cancer in such an easy way? I observed all his diagnoses and it took mo re than 15 days to come to a conclusion. I think it might cost a lot as well.

The Agra Indian on Thu, 7th May 2009 7:33 pm