Oncothermometer
Scientists have increased the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis by 20%
Alexander Bulanov, Izvestia
The Russian device will be able to determine the temperature of internal organs and tissues by the microwave radiation emanating from them with an error of up to 0.5 °C. This will increase the accuracy of diagnosis for oncological diseases by 20%, including breast cancer, as well as significantly reduce mortality from strokes and head injuries – it is associated with the temperature of the patient's brain. The device is already working in some clinics, but its wider implementation may be hindered by insufficient experimental base, which does not yet allow us to draw final conclusions about the accuracy of measurements, according to the Blokhin Russian Cancer Center.
Get out of the room
A local increase in the temperature of organs and tissues can signal dangerous oncological diseases. However, until now, scientists could only indirectly judge changes in the body, drawing conclusions based on skin temperature, which was measured using infrared radiation sensors. A new Russian device will help to get more accurate information – it is capable of detecting microwave radiation of body tissues located at a depth of up to 7 cm.
– The possibility of such studies was proved back in 1975. However, they could only be produced in special "metal" rooms that shielded the devices from third–party electromagnetic radiation that drowned out a relatively weak body signal," said the chief designer of RTM Diagnostics (a resident of the Skolkovo Foundation). Sergey Vesnin. – We managed to screen the diagnostic device itself, which allowed us to use it outside of specialized laboratories.
According to the developers, they managed to achieve this result due to the double housing of the receiving antenna of the device. Its design was calculated based on the frequency characteristics of the received signal. As a result, extraneous radiation is induced only on the outer shell and is not able to get to the inner (working part), through which there is a signal about the temperature of the tissues.
– First of all, we used a device to diagnose breast cancer. The fact is that the temperature of a malignant tumor is markedly different from the indicators characteristic of the tissues of a healthy body, even at an early stage of the disease," explained Sergey Vesnin. – As a result, the diagnostic accuracy was increased to 90%, which is 20% more than the X-ray machines currently used.
Today, the stationary version of the breast cancer detection device has already passed the necessary certification and is used in some Russian and foreign clinics. Its cost is about 500 thousand rubles, while the price of an X-ray mammograph reaches several million rubles, the creators of the device note.
Hotheads
The developers do not plan to stop there and are going to test the capabilities of the device by diagnosing other types of cancer. In particular, the applicability of the device can be expanded if it is used to carry out long-term diagnostics of the body under conditions of increased physical activity (for example, when walking fast) or after the introduction of glucose into it, which feeds cancer cells. According to scientists, such circumstances provoke a tumor to a thermal reaction that differs from the behavior of healthy tissues.
The Russian Cancer Center named after N.N. Blokhin evaluated the possibility of effective use of the device.
– The new device is actually used by oncologists of several clinics. But, as far as I know, so far this is happening only in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures, such as mammography and ultrasound," Alexander Petrovsky, Deputy Director for the Development of oncological care in the regions of the N.N. Blokhin Oncology Research Center, explained to Izvestia. – Its wider implementation may be hindered by insufficient experimental base, which does not yet allow us to draw final conclusions about the accuracy of measurements.
In addition to detecting cancer, the new device can be used to diagnose the condition of the brain, which is necessary when it is damaged as a result of injuries or stroke. Now specialists of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) are working on the development of this direction, who have declared the high accuracy of the method confirmed experimentally.
– The probability of death in case of brain damage is doubled if its temperature exceeds 38 ° C. The method proposed by scientists is the only non–invasive way to measure it," said Oleg Shevelev, professor of the Department of General Pathology and Pathological Physiology at the RUDN Medical Institute. – However, the overall body temperature is often within the normal range, so doctors cannot fully rely on this indicator in clinical practice to make a decision about the need for cooling the head.
According to the scientist, several hundred tests have already been conducted at the RUDN, in which the temperature of the patients' brain tissues was simultaneously recorded using electrodes implanted in it and the method of microwave thermometry.
– The maximum difference between the readings at the same time was only 0.5 ° C, which indicates the high accuracy of the new diagnostic device and its suitability for assessing the temperature of a wide variety of human tissues and organs, – said the expert.
A compact version of the device (the size of a matchbox) with flexible receiving antennas that can be sewn into everyday clothes is also possible. In this case, it will become a component of the system of constant monitoring of the state of the body. It is assumed that the information from such a device will be processed using an artificial intelligence system, which is currently being developed.
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