Early cancer detection device

A fluorescent imaging system incorporating conventional endoscopy could lead to a new range of medical instruments capable of early detection of cancers.

Glasgow University's Professor Miles Padgett plans to use a sensitive Marconi night vision camera in a system that he has named fluorescence endoscopy. It uses a photoactive drug to highlight areas of cancer as red fluorescent hotspots that require a violet light source to excite them. The sensitive camera can image the hotspots.

Professor Padgett said: "Early detection of cancer is the key to successful treatment. Unfortunately, many cancers of the oesophagus, stomach and colon (the gastrointestinal tract) are only discovered at a late stage when cure is less likely.

''Patients at risk have regular check-ups to detect the lining of the gastrointestinal tract but many cancers and pre-cancers are not easily detectable with traditional equipment. There is a need to develop an enhanced system that increases the contrast between normal and abnormal cancer tissue. That is precisely what we are now trying to do.

The research team is now perfecting its system. Initially, it used a simulator for demonstration and training purposes but, more recently, patients have been involved in a number of trials.

University of Glasgow website