A new experimental device has been created that can test a patient's blood for signs of rare tumors. This is especially true in cases where you need to understand whether the tumor is metastatic. The device sorts out cancer cells using sound waves, Medical News Today reports.

The bottom line is that the features of the reflection of the sound wave accurately indicate the physical properties of the cell (size and compressibility). But until recently it was not possible to separate cells with high accuracy.. This time, scientists used indirect waves. They intersect the trajectory of the cells at an angle. First, the effectiveness of the approach was tested on plastic particles.. And it turned out that the wave was separating 9.9 micron particles from 7.3 micron particles in diameter with an accuracy of 97%.

Then a computer model was connected, which helped to predict the trajectory of the particle. That is, the emitter could be tuned to certain particles.

Scientists also tested whether the device can separate MCF-7 cancer cells (20 microns in diameter) from white blood cells (12 microns). These cells, in addition to size, also differed in compressibility and density.

It turned out that about 71% of cancer cells fell into the field of view of the device.. In the near future, scientists want to test the device in a clinical setting. It will reveal metastasis, which is characterized by the appearance of cancer cells in the bloodstream..

aspekty. net.