Cancer blood-testing with a wearable device

New wearable cancer blood-testing device plugs directly into patients’ veins to test continuously.
05 April 2019
Presented by Ben McAllister
Production by Ben McAllister.

WearableCancerBloodTest

The wearable cancer blood-test device measures roughly 5 x 7 x 2.5 cm, with the cancer detecting chip mounted on top.

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For people who have been diagnosed with cancer, or who are suspected to have cancer, a common test doctors use to learn more is a so-called “liquid biopsy”. A sample of blood is taken and tested for cells from a cancerous lump that have broken off and made their way into the bloodstream - called circulating tumour cells, or CTCs. These CTCs can tell doctors a great deal about the cancer, which can help them direct better treatments.

The problem is, these tests can only sample a small amount of blood at any given time, and often fail to gather many CTCs, which leaves doctors wishing they had more information. But this week, a team from the University of Michigan have come up with a possible solution...Ben McAllister spoke to study author Dr. Daniel Hayes.

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