Intel searches for cancer's fingerprints

They've been using it for years to check for physical faults in semiconductor manufacturing, but researchers at computer chip maker Intel are excited about the potential new uses for a spectroscopic technique they hope could revolutionise the testing of samples for contaminants and disease.

Raman spectroscopy, which measures changes in wave scatter to offer detailed measurement of the strength of bonds between molecules, has been used for years within the factories where Intel manufactures the wafers of silicon microprocessors that have helped it dominate the global semiconductor industry. Raman spectroscopy equipment scans the manufactured pieces -- stimulating molecules and measuring the spectrum they give off in response -- to find minute faults that could affect the reliability of Intel's equipment.

Traces currently being examined include the 13 nanometre lines that carry electronic pulses within Intel's current-generation Pentium 4 and Itanium family of processors. Sensing that the atomic-level Raman spectroscopy technique might have some applicability in the analysis of other types of nanometre-scale entities, Intel engineers -- working under the auspices of Intel's three-year-old Intel Research division -- reworked the technology with the goal of turning its sights onto human molecules.

The new analysis technique involves scanning target molecules with the Raman electroscopy equipment, measuring the strength of various molecular bonds. Taking this approach will yield a new picture of a variety of molecules, and Intel researchers are hopeful that the results will give scientists a new tool that will let them fingerprint disease-causing molecules based on the shape and nature of the molecular bonds they contain.

Momentum

Years in development, the technique gained significant momentum late in November as it came into use at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, USA, a world leader in bone marrow research and one of the largest cancer research facilities in the world, with more than 2000 researchers. There, more than a dozen researchers have raised their hands for a try at the new equipment, which Intel modified specifically for exploring life science applications. Their hope: that the Raman spectroscopy-derived equipment will allow them to scan human blood samples to identify proteins that are known to be correlated with diseases like cancer.

Andrew Berlin, lead researcher within Intel's Precision Biology research program, concedes the research is still very much a blue-sky proposition. "Looking at vibrations and molecular bonds is something that's not routinely done in medicine," he says. "The researchers will definitely see things they haven't seen before -- but it will take a long time to collect enough data to know whether what they're seeing is truly correlated to the onset of disease, and whether that's valuable."

Berlin says it will be over a year before a measure of the technology's usefulness emerges. He is optimistic, however, that it will give researchers a new tool in their constant fight to improve diagnostic and early detection techniques of cancer and other diseases.

Whether or not the equipment proves revolutionary, however, it is a significant win for the Intel Research division, which was created specifically to find ways that Intel technology could be applied to life sciences research. This is one of the division's first projects, and its successful transition from laboratory theory to usable equipment reflects positively on Intel's growing acumen within the burgeoning bio-IT industry. If the technology is successful, it could potentially be commercialised and marketed to other research institutions across the globe. "We see healthcare as a future, potentially interesting market for Intel," Berlin says. "There are a lot of questions we'd like to have the answers to in medicine, and nobody knows whether the ingredient we're adding will help us get those answers. We may well have built the world's largest paperweight. But it's about taking a risk and investing in the long-term future."