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A team of scientists from the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences has successfully tested a laser able to locate and kill cancer cells, all on the outside of the skin.
While being totally non-invasive, "this technology has the potential to significantly inhibit the progression of metastases," Vladimir Zharov, author of the paper published today in Science Translational Medicine, told IEEE Spectrum. The idea is to kill cancer cells before they are able to metastasize or spread through the body, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
By projecting a laser on these circulating tumor cells, they absorb much more thermal energy than ordinary cells. The heat causes their expansion and collapse.
"The use of lasers has revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. However, the large size of lasers has prevented their use in many medical applications at the cellular level, "said Zharo in a 2017 statement.
And the results are promising: "We destroyed 96% of tumor cells in one patient," said Zharov. And that's before the laser has reached its maximum power.
This is not the first device of its kind, but Zharov says it is the first to be demonstrated in humans. Dozens of devices have tried something similar, including a wrist device worn by researchers at the University of Michigan.
But the new device has another big advantage: it can badyze a liter of blood in one hour, much faster than competing devices.
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This article is published in collaboration with Futurism.
The opinions expressed in this article are binding only on the author and not the World Economic Forum.
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