Florida: A team of researchers has introduced a medical device that can detect breast cancer from a patient’s saliva.
According to US media, this new hand-held device is actually a biosensor that can detect breast cancer biomarkers from a small sample of saliva.
The researchers have published their report about this device in the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B. “Our device is a great device because it’s portable, about the size of your hand,” said lead researcher and doctoral student at the University of Florida, Hisao Suwan Wan.
He said that the time required for the test and results is only up to five seconds which makes this test highly effective. The device uses paper test strips containing specific antibodies that react to targeted cancer biomarkers, the researchers explained.
When a saliva sample is placed on these strips, they send a wave of electricity to specific points on the device. These waves cause biomarkers in saliva to bind to antibodies that provide results related to cancer risk.