D3 — New Smartphone Device Could Provide Rapid, Inexpensive Cancer Diagnosis

A smartphone-based device developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators is a new technology that converts a smartphone into a tool for cancer diagnosis.

Dr.Ralph Weissleder, Director of the MGH Center for Systems Biology (CSB), said, “We expect that the D3 platform will enhance the breadth and depth of cancer screening in a way that is feasible and sustainable for resource limited-settings.”

Lung Cancer Diagnosis Tool Safe and Effective for Older Patients
A study in Manchester has found that a procedure to take tissue samples from lung cancer patients can be used safely in the elderly – allowing doctors to make an accurate diagnosis and to choose appropriate treatment.

The device called D3 (digital diffraction diagnosis) system features an imaging module with a battery-powered LED light clipped onto the phones camera that records high resolution imaging data. The D3 system is capable of recording data more than 100,000 cells from a blood or tissue sample in a single image.

A sample of blood or tissue is labeled with microbeads that can bind to known cancer cells that can then be imaged using the phone. The microbeads are coated with antibodies that target specific cancer types. The presence of specific molecules is detected by analyzing the diffraction patterns while the shape of the beads determines how they diffract light.

A special app analyzes the image taken, quantifying the light returning from the sample and converting that into an indicator of the presence of cancer. D3 system analysis of fine-needle lymph node biopsy samples was accurately able to differentiate four patients whose lymphoma diagnosis was confirmed by conventional pathology from another four with benign lymph node enlargement.

African Americans Experience Longer Delay Between Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: Study
According to a recent study African American men on average wait a week longer than their Caucasian counterparts between the initial diagnosis of prostate cancer and treatment.

D3 assay were available within an hour at a cost of $1.80 per assay. The price is expected to reduce with further refinement of the system.

Eliminating Inequalities in Cancer Diagnosis can Save Thousands of Lives Every Year
A new study reveals that removing the inequalities which influence the time of cancer diagnosis can improve the chances of survival among patients with seven common cancers every year.

Source-Medindia

High Risk of Death Following Smoking After Cancer Diagnosis
Men who continue smoking even after getting diagnosed by cancer have an increased risk of death than those who stop following the diagnosis, a new study revealed