A tiny sensor that can hear the subtle electrical signals naturally emitted from cells could be used one day to listen for cancer.

The “microelectrode cell array” has the potential to detect tumors much earlier than current methods and help develop drugs that effectively kill cancerous cells.

The sensor is a specially designed semiconductor chip that contains an array of electrodes, each no wider than a human hair, and a series of tiny channels used to transport fluids through the chip.

The scientists suspend a single cell above each electrode, which is sensitive enough to capture the electrical signals that occur as ions travel in and out of the cell’s membrane during its normal function. Healthy cells give off a unique pattern of electrical signals that the scientists record by connecting the chip to a computer. Whether or not cancerous cells give off electrical signals that differ from healthy cells has yet to be demonstrated.