Injectable Tumor Probe Tracks Cancer Treatments
by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 11:57PM
Radiation, in strong enough doses, is deadly. A short exposure can certainly kill, but controlled exposures can be useful, targeting cancer cells and helping patients to fight their disease and recover. However, the administration of radiation for cancer treatment has always been a bit of a black art, with doctors having to wait for days, weeks, or months after a treatment to check on whether a tumor has been affected. Now, a new radiation-detecting probe can let doctors know exactly how much that tumor has been affected, and can do so instantly. The probe can be inserted directly into the tumor and report the exact dose of radiation received. From that information, doctors can calculate just how much radiation they need to apply to the patient and can more specifically target the dose, thereby decreasing the debilitating side-effects so common with cancer treatment. The probe is also RFID-enabled, meaning it can be identified and read wirelessly (in the same way that RFID technology wirelessly charges drivers with tolls when they pass through toll booths).
Right now the prototype probe is about the size of a pin -- long and narrow -- but future versions are expected to be shrunk to the size of a grain of rice. Trials are expected to begin in 2010 and, if all goes well, could usher in a new era of precision cancer treatments -- which could come in handy if all the doom and gloom about cell phone-induced cancer turns out to be true!
From Engadget
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