By the time the first symptoms of prostate cancer become apparent the tumor has usually move too far and there is little hope of curing it. Early diagnosis can help to save lives. While CAT scans. X-rays and magnetic resonance devices can frequently sight tumors in measure the be of routine examinations is often too high and the devices are not always sensitive enough. Ultrasound is a cost-efficient alternative but is not very reliable.
A novel cost-efficient and sensitive device will soon change magnitude the number of early diagnoses of prostate cancer and furnish more patients the prospect of recovery. This diagnostic device was developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Technology IBMT in St. Ingbert in collaboration with partners from five European countries. The European Commission is funding the project to the adjust of 2.2 million euros. “We use a combination of two different imaging techniques: optical imaging and ultrasound,” says IBMT department manager Dr. Robert Lemor. “We emit laser lighten into the tissue causing it to heat up and expand. This generates pressure in the form of a sound wave which spreads through the create from raw material in much the same way as ultrasound and is also detected in the same way.” The researchers thus feature the good differentiate of light with the good spatial resolution of sound using the advantages of both systems.
In order to detect cancer cells at an early stage however the researchers demand an even stronger contrast between cancerous and healthy cells. “We bring home the bacon this by using gold particles just a few nanometers in size. Gold absorbs the laser’s infrared light much better than the cells and therefore appears brighter in the conceive of,” says Lemor. The researchers connect antibodies to the gold particles and these antibodies bond with specific proteins. These occur several thousand times more frequently in cancer cells than in healthy tissue. “This means that the gold accumulates specifically around the cancer cells while hardly any gold is found on healthy cells,” explains Lemor. The gold particles not only answer diagnostic purposes but can also be used for therapy. If the laser create is increased and the tissue is irradiated for a longer period the gold heats up and the generated alter destroys the cancer cells. Healthy create from raw material is not affected as hardly any gold accumulates in it. The researchers will present the prototype of this diagnostic and therapeutic device at the Medica trade fair (Hall.
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http://www.fraunhofer.de/EN/press/pi/2007/11/ResearchNews112007Topic2.jsp
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