Table of contents table of the future of cancer biopsy? Solving important problems with cancer treatment
In the field of medicine, non-invasive surveillance is often seen as the most promising and most challenging Avenue for health care. For example, Apple is investigating non-invasive blood sugar monitoring on the wrist, while Samsung already implemented blood pressure monitoring on smartwatch-based.
In the event of serious problems such as cancer, however, a visit to the clinic is required, which entails expensive scans and complex diagnostic processes. For example, take the diagnosis of colon cancer. In order to search for cancer growth, endoscopy or colonoscopy is the preferred method in which a pipe with a camera is pressed into the body to accept a scan.
The future of cancer biopsy?
What if the intestinal scanning could be done from the body by using a non-invasive tool that is about the size of a penny? This is exactly what experts from the University of Leeds have achieved by creating a tiny magnetic robot that is equipped with a small ultrasonic sensor that can one day remove the need for a physical biopsy.
Storm Lab / University of Leeds
The movement of the robot within the body is checked externally with a large permanent magnet kit by a joystick. Remarkably, the rolling and curved movements can also be controlled autonomously. During the tests, it was able to record high-resolution 3D scans that are required for cancer diagnosis, and also anomalies such as lesions in the intestinal wall.
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The team initially created a unique form called Oloid, which offers more freedom with movement and can easily roll in the intestinal cavity. The uniquely shaped housing was then equipped with a high frequency sensor to absorb high-resolution 3D images of the intestinal walls. The entire approach is considered a safe, cheaper and targeted manner for wider applications.
A little more than two centimeters in diameter and resin material using a 3D printer, the oloid magnetic endoscope (OME) was tested on surfaces that imitate the human intestine, the food pipe and the stomach. After the tests in the artificial intestine, the team also confirmed its effectiveness in the pig insert, a necessary step before human experiments begin in 2026.
The external magnet controls the movement of the robot in the body. Storm Lab / University of Leeds
Pietro Valdastri, professor and chairman in robotics and autonomous systems at the institute, says that OME enables the diagnosis of colon cancer and offers immediate scan results. The latter part is crucial.
Solving important problems with cancer treatment
Current biopsia methods include collecting tissue samples and sending to laboratories that can last from days to a few weeks before the results arrive. The team says that the waiting interval between diagnosis and intervention has essentially eliminated.
“This is the first time that it was possible to create high-resolution three-dimensional ultrasound images that were recorded deeply in the gastrointestinal tract or intestine from a probe,” says the technical team behind the ome and adds that such a milestone has never been reached before.
For its robot device, the team was based on a 28 MHz micro-ultrasound array to create detailed 3D scans of the intestinal walls. Medical experts can use the collected data to create cross -sectional images that are achieved under a microscope to those of regular endoscopic evaluation by tissue analysis.
Storm Lab / University of Leeds
High frequency ultrasound recording is the key here, since experts can see intestinal wall data on microscopic levels. With OME, researchers have created a tool that opens the doors for a deep scanning within the human stomach intestine tract.
“This not only makes the process more convenient for patients, but also reduces waiting times, repetition processes and relieves the fear of potential cancer results,” says Nikita Greenidge, leading author of the research published in Science Robotics Journal.
The experts are confident that OME can open the doors for significant progress in the detection of cancer and the subsequent treatment processes.
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