The new 6G phone technology that spots skin cancer sooner
SCIENTISTS have found a new way to detect any type of skin cancer in a matter of seconds. Currently, the 13,000 new skin cancer cases diagnosed each year in Ireland are identified using a microscope-type device or scans such as computer tomography (CT).
These scans use high-frequency radiowaves (a type of radiation) to create a detailed image of what is happening inside the body but involve a hospital visit and bulky equipment.
While they can detect the disease in its early stages, the higher frequency radiowaves the scans use can also damage healthy cells in the body. They are also time-consuming and expensive. But now researchers at Queen Mary University of London and Glasgow University have come up with another solution which they claim could revolutionise the diagnosis of skin cancer.
They have developed a sensor that uses less harmful, low-frequency terahertz (THz) radiation which is more accurate than using a microscope and just as accurate, but safer, than CT scans. This is the same technology that will be used in the next generation of 6G mobile phones.
While traditional scanning techniques build up pictures of the tissue, the THz scan looks at how the tissue reacts to certain radio frequencies. This means it can identify even a small number of cancer cells, say the researchers.
They claim the new sensor can detect skin cancer ‘within a matter of seconds’ and with ‘exceptional sensitivity’.
In future it could be incorporated into a hand-held device so patients can be diagnosed more conveniently, even at home.
In a study, published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, the scientists tested the sensor on 3D synthetic skin to see if it could detect subtle cell changes.
After shining the THz radiation on skin samples, they monitored the radiowaves and found that with cancerous tissue the radiowaves bounced back with three particular characteristics. This was then fed into a computer programme which creates graphs on a screen.
This technology allows ‘for more accurate differentiation between healthy and cancerous cells and to measure the malignancy degree of the tissue’, said Dr Shohreh Nourinovin, a research associate at Queen Mary’s School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, who led the study.
In lab tests, the sensor successfully identified normal skin cells and basal cell carcinoma cells in less than five minutes.
THE researchers say this ability to detect earlystage cancer holds immense potential for improving patient outcomes.
Professor Qammer Abbasi, codirector for Communication Sensing & Imaging Hub at Glasgow University’s James Watt School of Engineering, who was involved in the study, says the new technology could be ‘particularly beneficial for people who are unable to travel to hospital or live in remote areas’.
He envisages it being used to screen people for skin cancer. If it detects a cancer, more detailed checks would be required.
‘The earlier we can diagnose skin cancer, the better the outcome. This technology could save countless lives,’ he adds.
Commenting on the technology, Dr Hattie Brooks, research information manager at a cancer charity, said: ‘While more research is needed before this biosensor can move from the laboratory bench to bedside, it’s exciting to see promising new innovations that could one day help more people affected by some types of skin cancer to get diagnosed at an earlier stage.’