Researchers at On-q-ity, a diagnostic company, have developed a new device intended to save lives by better detecting cancer. The device, presented at an American Association for Cancer Research conference today in Denver, has a clunky name, the Circulating Cancer Capture and Characterization Chip (C5 for short).When cancer grows, it often sends cells through the bloodstream, which can lead to metastasis. These circulating cancer cells are difficult to detect, however, because they are greatly outnumbered by healthy blood cells. On-q-ity's chip uses two methods to detect cancer cells in a blood sample. The chip has thousands of tiny posts that become narrower and narrower as blood passes from one end to the other, and some cancer cells -- much larger than blood cells -- get caught in the process. The chip also uses a process called antibody affinity, which snags cancer cells by matching their chemical signature.On-q-ity didn't invent either of these methods.
- 9/30/2010
- by David Zax
- Fast Company
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