The fight against cancer is worldwide, as cancer knows no boundaries. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, you could develop cancer sometime in your life. The good news is that technology is helping the medical field make leaps and bounds in the battle against cancer.
If you want to blow your mind a bit, take the time to learn a little about the specifics of how technology is helping in the fight against cancer. Here is a brief description of a few mind-blowing technologies that may help you or someone you love live a longer, healthier life.
Fluid biopsies
When a person has cancer, they become very familiar with the purpose of a biopsy. To check the progress of a patient’s cancer, doctors often have to go in several different times to obtain tissue for an updated picture of their prognosis.
Illumina, a well-known DNA sequencer organization, has been working to develop a mainstream option for a fluid biopsy. A fluid biopsy would be as simple as taking a sample of blood and testing it.
The promise of the iKnife
Surgeons have had a scalpel that cuts and burns simultaneously to reduce bleeding during surgery. As the scalpel is a surgeon’s most valuable tool, it’s exciting when a new development arises.
The iKnife was created by a dude named Zoltan Takats. The iKnife cauterizes the incision as the surgeon moves, but it also holds the ability to analyze the vaporized smoke for malignant tissue. The implications of a tool such as the iKnife are astounding.
Pinpointing abilities may make way for the reduction of damage to a patient’s body. For instance, it may help a surgeon save a woman’s breasts from being taken from cancer. Losing a part of your body is a traumatic addition to the fact that you have cancer.
Molecular cancer diagnostics
Science and technology have designed a way for cancer patients to get a treatment plan based on the genetic makeup of their particular tumor. The DNA taken from the patient’s tumor will show specific mutations. Doctors can then match the particular mutation to specific medications already proven effective on fighting the malignancy.
Watson has been helping for years now
Diagnosing cancer is one thing. Treating a person’s cancer is a whole other situation. Not even the most skilled oncologist can read through all of the various studies done on a type of cancer and make a decision from the information. However, IBM’s Watson supercomputer can.
Oncologists need only give Watson the patient’s individual stats, and the computer can almost instantly run through a million different treatment methods. Watson provides a super-educated standard for treatment methods that has already saved hundreds of lives.