King’s College Researchers Develop New Imaging Instrument for Oral Cancer Diagnosis
Researchers from King’s College London have developed a new imaging instrument to make it easier to diagnoses cancer of oral cancer earlier.
Currently, biopsy is the best way of determining whether lesions found in the mouth or throat are cancerous. But the procedure is invasive and unpleasant. Oral cancer cases in the UK have increased over the last decade, but survival rates have stalled. Many people who have oral cancer are not diagnosed until an advanced stage when treatment is less likely to be successful.
In the past, oral cancer was diagnosed predominantly in older people who drank and smoked. However, there has been an increase in the number of young people, including non-smokers and non-drinkers, in recent years.
Researchers from King’s College London are hoping that a new method will enable quicker, simpler diagnosis. They have created a prototype of an instrument known as the Microvascular Scope, which is designed to investigate suspicious looking lesions. The instrument would also help to guide doctors to take biopsies with minimal impact on surrounding tissue.
The device has been developed by a group of highly skilled doctors, engineers, physicists and bioengineers. Members include Dr Richard Cook, Dr Frederic Festy, Dr Neveen Hosny and Professor Timothy Watson. Dr Festy, a senior lecture in biophotonics, explained that the make-up of the group enabled all aspects of design and functionality to be covered. Prototypes often don’t work in clinical settings, and this is why it’s so beneficial to have medical professionals involved in the project. With this device, it should transfer to a hospital or clinic setting seamlessly.
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