Tag Archive for: Digital Health Round Up

May 2023 Digital Health Round Up

/in /by

Every month there is new technology developed that helps doctors treat cancer. Scientists have developed a sophisticated oxygen-eating battery that successfully helped treat cancer in trials. A hollow seed armed with immunotherapy has been successful in treating pancreatic cancer in mice trials. A new powerful microscope at a university is helping scientists to see cancer react with radiation at a cellular level. 

An Oxygen-Eating Battery Implant Cures 90 Percent of Cancer in Mice 

They have developed an implantable battery system that can identify low-oxygen environments in the human body that support tumor activity the battery system includes a self-charging saltwater battery and an anticancer drug called tirapazamine (TPZ) reports Interesting Engineering. This implant attacks cancer cells in the environment in which they grow, an environment lacking in oxygen. This battery implant regulates the low oxygen tumor conditions.

The drug TPZ only targets cells in this environment so no healthy cells are harmed. Researchers found that the volume of cancerous tumor decreased using this method. Another important finding was that there were no side effects such as weight loss or hair loss that typically occurs with chemotherapy. The battery implant creates a hypoxic environment making the TPZ work better. If this works as well in human trials, cancer patients won’t have the common painful side effects of chemotherapy. Click here for more information. 

Hollow “Seed” Shrinks cancerous Tumors From the Inside 

Pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, but it’s also notoriously difficult to detect and treat. As a result, more than 80% of patients diagnosed with the most common form of pancreatic cancer -pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)- die within the first year after diagnosis, and fewer than 10% live for five or more years after reports Freethink. Doctors use monoclonal antibodies (mABS), which bind to cancer cells to either kill the cells or help the immune system fight the cancer.

These antibodies are given IV and circulate throughout the body. The mABS do not go straight to the pancreas, they are in the bloodstream, and this is what causes side effects. A nanofluidic drug-eluting seed or NDES is a device made of stainless steel that releases the monoclonal antibodies at the cancer site over 2 weeks period. Releasing it directly at the pancreas reduces side effects and allows for a smaller dose. Researchers have found promising results in mice trials. Click here for more information. 

New SEISMIC Facility Could Improve Our Understanding of Infectious Diseases, Aging, and Cancers 

The University of Surrey’s SEISMIC facility will offer scientists access to technology that enables them to pick up single cells or even parts of cells and measure the spatial position of biomarkers like proteins, metabolites and lipids reports News Medical & Life Sciences. This Research Center has an ion beam center, environmental flow laboratory, and a proton beam. 

These advanced microscopes allow scientists to follow biomarkers throughout the cell. This information will help them see how cancer affects cells. This technology allows scientists to see how cells communicate under certain conditions. They can observe the interaction between cancer cells and radiation. The University is allowing researchers and academics that are funded for cancer research to use this advanced technology. Click here for more information.

May 2022 Digital Health Round Up

/in /by

This month brings great strides in the advancement of technology available to physicians treating cancer patients. Scientists are using artificial intelligence to help physicians predict cancer reoccurrence for patients, helping patients have better outcomes. New imaging technology, using fluorescent probes, aids in tracking the patient’s cancer drug progress. Researchers have also developed a procedure using photodynamic therapy to help in the fight on colorectal cancer.

AI Tool Accurately Predicts Tumor Regrowth in Cancer Patients

Doctors and scientists have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can accurately predict how likely tumors are to grow back in cancer patients after they have undergone treatment reports, TheGuardian.com. Using this AI for the patients that are at highest risk of having the cancer reoccur helps with getting detection sooner and increases the patients’ chance of a better outcome. Cancer patients carry the burden of worrying about reoccurrence daily, and this AI can help decrease some of that anxiety. Accurate prediction of recurrence can decrease the amount of CT scans for patients, decreasing the amount of radiation that the patients are exposed to. This study tested the AI on lung cancer, but this artificial intelligence tool can be used for many other cancers throughout the body. Find more information here.

Fluorescent Probe Can Track Cancer Drug Progress, Study Shows

Researchers say the fluorescent probe can track how tumors are responding to the drugs, which harness the body’s immune system to fight disease. The light-sensitive technology is able to detect which key immune cells-a small group known as T cells- are involved in attacking tumors reports, MedicalXpress.com . This new imaging technology can show doctors how the patient’s body is responding to the treatment right away. The doctors can see the response through tissue or blood samples and make changes to treatment based on the findings. This imaging allows for a more personal approach to each cancer patient, improving patient outcomes. Find more information here.

Wireless Device to Provide New Options for Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Photodynamic therapy is a new tool available in the fight on colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer. The researchers will use photodynamic therapy (PDT) during surgery by using a photosensitizer- a drug activated by light- to kill the cancer cells. During this process, surgeons will be able to remove the bulk of the tumor, then fully irradiate the tumor bed when the photosensitizer is activated by the light reports, MedicalXpress.com . The primary treatment for colorectal cancer is surgery and chemotherapy, this allows for another option for treatment of this cancer. Using the photodynamic therapy helps the surgeon get out all the cancerous cells, helping to prevent reoccurrence of the cancer. This method of treatment also helps decrease the toxic side effects that chemotherapy has on the body. Photodynamic therapy can be used for treatment of other cancerous tumors throughout the body. Find more information here.