Electronic nose: a device for diagnosing cancer!
"Electronic nose" - the name of the device for instant diagnosis of cancer, it already exists!
It was invented under the guidance of Dr. Josén Haik at the Faculty of Engineering Chemistry of the Technion University in Haifa, Israel.
History of
In 1989, a medical magazine described a case where a dog licked and tried to bite off a mole from the feet of his mistress. The woman hurried to consult a doctor who quickly established that the mole is a sign of melanoma( a type of skin cancer).After studying this case and further research, scientists have established that dogs have the ability to feel cancer on the surface of the skin and even cancer of internal organs.
As it turned out, cancer cells have a specific odor. When cells with blood are in the lungs, they can easily be determined in the exhalation of a person when breathing. The scent of four-footed friends unerringly grasps their smell.
Israeli scientists are interested in this feature of animals and in 2005 began their work on creating an "electronic nose".
In 2007-2009 the device was clinically tested in the oncology center of the hospital "Rambam", after which it became known that it accurately identifies the disease at an early stage. And also helps to determine which of the organs is affected by the tumor and to establish its variety.
As part of the test, samples of "breathing" of 60 volunteers from healthy people and 40 patients with a previously established oncological diagnosis were taken. In 92% of cases, the "electronic nose" confirmed the diagnosis, based on CT and biopsy examinations and studies. Diagnosis with the help of "artificial nose" avoids the "traditional" complex and often painful research that can be carried out at the stage of an already formed tumor, which allows you to gain valuable time.
Description of the device and the principle of its operation
"Electronic nose" in size smaller than a pin. It is built into a device resembling a mobile phone, and is located on the end of a metal tube resembling an antenna. The new device belongs to nanotechnology.
Here is how the inventor Dr. Hosen Haik explains the principle of the device: "A sick person, exhaling, throws out the smallest cancer particles that have specific chemical and physical properties. Their characteristics are analyzed on the basis of the definition of the length of the electrodes using special chips. Chips recognize the type of cancer cells and their location. Already after 25-30 seconds after the expiration of the patient, the analysis results are displayed. During the experiment, the "electronic nose" was tested on several dozen patients at the cancer center of the hospital "Rambam".Based on the diagnostic results, the detector is recognized as effective.
It is planned to mass-produce the device and improve it to 100% reliability of the location and type of tumor.
To carry out the development of a high-tech detector allowed a grant from the EU Fund in the amount of 1.7 million dollars.
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