via Smithsonian Magazine
For women, mammograms are a sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary, annual ritual. But this procedure doesn’t always provide accurate results, and it exposes women to X-rays. In a study appearing in ACS’ journal MolecularPharmaceutics, scientists report that they have developed a non-invasive “disease screening pill” that can make cancerous tumors light up when exposed to near-infrared light in mice without using radiation.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women, according to the American Cancer Society. Mammograms are X-rays of breast tissue that can provide information about a lump’s location and size, but they can’t distinguish between cancerous and benign growths. As a result, up to one in three healthy women undergo unnecessary breast cancer treatments and procedures, according to a recent study by researchers in Denmark. Mammograms also require low levels of radiation. While risk of harm from this exposure is minimal, repeated X-rays can potentially cause health issues. Fluorescent probes can detect breast tumors, but they must be given intravenously. So, Greg M. Thurber and colleagues set out to develop a more accurate, safer technique that was also non-invasive.
The researchers combined two types of molecules into a single pill: a targeting molecule that binds to proteins on the surface of breast cancer cells; and a dye that had negatively charged sulfate groups attached to it. Sulfate groups enhance the solubility of near-infrared florescent dyes, increasing the likelihood of detecting the tumor. Testing in mice showed that with this formulation, a considerable proportion of the imaging agent was absorbed into the bloodstream. It also bound specifically to cancer cells with little background noise. The researchers say that the pill could lead to an accurate, safe and noninvasive way to detect breast cancer, and it could be modified in the future to detect other diseases.
Learn more: Diagnosing breast cancer with an imaging pill
The Latest on: Imaging pill
May 23, 2018 - By imaging the stone from several angles, the individual identity of the diamond can be recorded and tracked as well, so that its provenance and trail through the industry can be tracked over the years. Here IBM imagines blockchain will be useful ...
“Screening Pill” Could Offer Noninvasive Breast Cancer Screening Method - Cancer Network
May 18, 2018 - They noted that there would need to be a period of days between the point at which a patient swallows this pill and the imaging is done, in order to allow for the agent to be fully absorbed and cleared from any background tissue. They argue, though ...
Can a Pill Plus Infrared Light Replace Mammograms? - MedicalResearch.com (blog)
May 16, 2018 - To avoid this risk and provide a safe, inexpensive, and relatively easy method for patients to undergo screening, we decided to develop near-infrared fluorescent imaging agents that can be taken as a pill. The goal is for the patient to simply take a ...
Diagnosing breast cancer with an imaging pill - Science Daily
May 16, 2018 - Testing in mice showed that with this formulation, a considerable proportion of the imaging agent was absorbed into the bloodstream. It also bound specifically to cancer cells with little background noise. The researchers say that the pill could lead ...
Column: New Research — A Pill That Makes Tumors Light Up - Greenwich Sentinel
May 15, 2018 - If we go to molecular imaging, we can see which tumors need to be treated and this pill could also catch cancers that would have gone undetected”. His team uses a dye that responds to infrared light to tag a molecule commonly found on tumor cells, in ...
May 4, 2018 - The research is described in a study in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, titled, “Oral administration and detection of a near-infrared molecular imaging agent in an orthotopic mouse model for breast cancer screening.” This work was done in ...
Pill to detect breast cancer being developed at University of Michigan - MLive.com
May 3, 2018 - UM Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Greg Thurber and his team have been working in collaboration with College of Pharmacy Professor David Smith on developing the pill, which uses an imaging agent that binds to a molecule ...
New Pill Could Make Mesothelioma Diagnosis Easier, More Accurate - Surviving Mesothelioma
May 2, 2018 - The possibility of earlier, more accurate cancer diagnosis is the idea behind the new molecular imaging pill. The pill contains two parts. One part is based on an experimental cancer treatment drug that failed to fight cancer in clinical trials but was ...
Pill lights up breast cancer in test with mice, may improve disease diagnosis - UPI.com
May 1, 2018 - The researchers were challenged to find a molecule that could get from the digestive system to a tumor -- it must be small and greasy to be absorbed into the bloodstream, but imaging agents also must be larger and water-soluble. The pill used in ...
via Google News
The Latest on: Imaging pill
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Israeli Pill to Replace Colonoscopy
on May 17, 2018 at 5:00 am
In August Given Imaging, an Israeli medical technology company, received FDA approval for their Pill Cam SB3 which will potentially replace colonoscopies in screening for colorectal cancer. Furthermore, the company announced Monday that Japan's Central ... […]
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World Medical Imaging Market Report 2017: Analysis by Manufactur - FOX 8, WVUE, fox8live.com, weather, app, news, saints
on May 14, 2018 at 6:07 am
Medical imaging is a process of creating visual representations of the interior of a body for medical applications and clinical analysis. It is performed to reveal internal structures hidden by the skin and bones, to examine and diagnose the medical condition. […]
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Researchers develop pill to aid breast cancer diagnosis
on May 2, 2018 at 3:49 pm
The pill makes tumours light up when exposed to infrared light ... “It binds to the target, but it doesn’t do anything, which makes it perfect for imaging.” The researchers attached a molecule that fluoresces when it is struck with infrared light ... […]
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Navitar's imaging systems come with capture imaging software.
on March 14, 2018 at 9:33 am
Navitar, Inc., a manufacturer of innovative camera and lens technologies, announced today the launch of a lens and camera coupling program offering customers a seamlessly integrated imaging system with uncompromised image quality. Navitar has taken their ... […]
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Harvard-AKU collaboration brings unique imaging ‘pill’ to Karachi
on February 16, 2018 at 5:49 am
KARACHI: Aga Khan University researchers have partnered with faculty at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, to test a novel pill-shaped imaging device to study malnutrition in children. The device can ... […]
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FDA has no problem with camera-equipped smart pills travelling your body
on February 10, 2018 at 4:00 am
The FDA has approved a “bite-sized” camera-equipped smart pill for medical use in patients who aren ... Developed by Israeli company Given Imaging, the PillCam costs $500, which is a lot cheaper than what a traditional colonoscopy would cost. […]
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Global Drug-delivery Smart Pill Market 2017 Key Players - CapsoVision, Given Imaging, Medimetrics S.A, Olympus Corporation
on December 6, 2017 at 8:39 am
The Global Drug-delivery SmartMarket 2017: The report introduces the Global Drug-delivery Smartmarket along with its opportunities, product scope, risk, market overview and the driving force. The report describes to analyze the market revenues, top ... […]
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First imaging of free nanoparticles in laboratory experiment using a high-intensity laser source
on September 8, 2017 at 6:54 am
Pill-shaped helium nanodroplets can be detected through curved ... and the University of Rostock have managed for the first time to image free nanoparticles in a laboratory experiment using a high-intensity laser source. Previously, the structural analysis ... […]
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Zecotek plans expansion, Harvard tests cancer-imaging prototype, and more
on July 3, 2017 at 1:04 pm
Consortium to develop optical biopsy pill A technology development centre in Rochester ... Harvard hospital to test skin-cancer imaging system A company that develops infrared-based medical imaging applications has asked a Harvard Medical School teaching ... […]
via Bing News
