Raman Spectroscopy Sees Cancer at 1-Trillionth of a Meter
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a new imaging system capable of detecting cancerous tumors a thousand times smaller than those visible to other medical imaging devices.
The innovative imaging technique, known as Raman spectroscopy, relies on beacon signals created by nanoparticles injected into the body. A laser light is beamed from outside the body causing the nanoparticles to emit data about their precise location. Scientists can then analyze the nanoparticle emissions to locate early cancer development or other biological events happening inside the body.
Stanford’s team reports that Raman spectroscopy is not only stronger and longer lasting than other molecular imaging methods, it also has the potential to provide information about dozens of different targets at the same time, rather than just one or two.
The researchers believe if the nanomedicine technique proves safe in humans it could eventually have the kind of impact positron emission tomography (PET) did when it was discovered decades ago. As the team’s leader said,
“Nobody understood the impact of PET then. Ten or fifteen years from now, people should appreciate the impact of this.”
Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD
Professor of Radiology,
Stanford University School of Medicine
Scientists at Gambhir’s lab are conducting further studies on Raman spectroscopy to investigate if the nanoparticles are toxic, how they travel through the body, and how they’re eventually excreted.
If you’d like to learn more about Raman spectroscopy, results from Stanford’s study have been published in the March 31, 2008, online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: Stanford School of Medicine News
Related Audio: A Unique View of Disease from Technology Review by MIT
Technorati Tags: diagnostic radiology; oncology; cancer testing
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