Listening to the sound of skin cancer

October 18, 2006 | Source: KurzweilAI

Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound.

The minimally invasive technique causes melanoma cells to emit ultrasonic noise, and could let oncologists spot early signs of metastases — as few as 10 cancer cells in a blood sample — before they even settle in other organs.

The team’s method, called photoacoustic detection, combines laser techniques from optics and ultrasound techniques from acoustics, using a laser to make cells vibrate and then picking up the characteristic sound of melanoma cells.

The sound is produced by melanin, a marker for melanoma cells.

Source: Optical Society of America