Cancer has become one of the leading causes of deaths all over the world.

Over the years, researchers and scientists have been attempting to find the best ways to detect cancer earlier, in a bid to increase the chances of successful treatment and improve patients’ outcomes. Today, with advances in technology, scientists have come up with an innovative solution to help detect cancer before symptoms start appearing. They have designed microchips that can help detect cancer cells in the bloodstream.

What are microchips?

Microchips are tiny electronic chips that have incorporated circuits that can perform several functions and store data. They have been in use for quite some time now, primarily in the technological industry, to store data and perform various functions.

With time, scientists used this technology to venture into the medical sector, and today, microchips are clinically proving to be a game-changer in cancer detection.

An Overview: Cancer Detection Technologies

The significant challenge when dealing with cancer is detecting it in its early stages before it spreads. Traditional techniques used in cancer detection include imaging technology, mammography, biopsy, and blood tests.

However, these techniques have challenges that affect their sensitivity, specificity, cost-effectiveness, effectiveness, and availability.

Recent technological advancements have led researchers to explore novel techniques such as liquid biopsy, which is a non-invasive technique.

Liquid biopsy involves the detection of circulating tumor cells and tumor-specific DNA fragments in a patient’s blood, urine, or saliva. Scientists have been working relentlessly in this area to find optimal ways of detecting these cancer cells and DNA fragments. That’s where the microchip technology comes in.

How Do Cancer-Detecting Microchips Work?

Cancer-detecting microchips are tiny, finger-nail sized devices that can detect types of cancer by detecting circulating tumor cells, which are released into the bloodstream by tumors.

These microchips analyze blood samples of patients who are at high risk of having cancer or an early cancer growth.

The chips detect cancer cells by analyzing them according to their physical properties. When a blood sample is put on the chip, it passes through channels embedded on the chip’s surface, where cancer cells stick on the surface.

The cells attached to the surface are then analyzed to determine their shape, size, and hardness, which assists in the identification of cancer cells. Chips that use electrical fields can differentiate between normal and cancerous cells according to the variation in their electrical properties.

Benefits of Cancer-Detecting Microchips

Cancer detecting microchips provide benefits such as:.

Early Detection: The primary benefit of this technology is the ability to detect cancer early, before symptoms start to show. Through detecting circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream using cancer detecting microchips, cancer can be detected before it spreads to other organs.
Minimal Invasiveness: Unlike traditional cancer-detection methods that require invasive procedures such as biopsies, cancer-detecting microchips offer the possibility of detecting cancer with minimal invasiveness through a simple blood test.
Cost-Effective: As the technology gets more refined, it is likely to become more cost-effective than current testing methods. It may lower the cost of healthcare by reducing hospital stays and unnecessary treatments.
Potential to Increase Survival: The earlier cancer is detected, the higher the chances of survival when a patient undergoes treatment. Early detection means suitable treatment can commence, increasing the chances of successful removal of the cancerous cells.

Results of Cancer-Detecting Microchip Trials

Scientific studies have been conducted on cancer-detecting microchips that have yielded promising results. Researchers have tested these microchips on various cancers such as breast, prostate, and lung cancer.

In a study conducted on a group of 49 patients suspected of lung cancer, researchers managed to identify patients with the disease from blood samples with a success rate of 80%.

They followed this up by performing tissue biopsies on these patients and confirming their diagnosis, indicating that the microchip diagnosis of cancer was accurate.

In another study involving 36 patients with prostate cancer, the research team used microchips to analyze their blood samples.

They found that the chips were more effective in identifying early-stage prostate cancer than traditional prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.

Conclusion

Cancer detecting microchips are a promising, innovative technology that is poised to advance cancer detection strategies and revolutionize cancer management.

Early detection of cancer is crucial in combatting the disease to increase survival rates for those affected. The development of cancer-detecting microchips has the potential to increase cancer survival rates, providing a less invasive, cost-effective, and efficient way by which cancer can be detected before it spreads.