[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5927\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ELasers to help spot killer diseases such as cancer\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetecting killer diseases early with relatively inexpensive optical technology can help to save lives. It can also avoid the need for more invasive and expensive treatments further down the line.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded PHAST-ID project is developing a very low-cost, disposable diagnostic optical sensor that could have a huge impact on the detection of pancreatic cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018These tests could be carried out right at the doctor\u2019s surgery,\u2019 said Dr Alan O\u2019Riordan, of the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland, who is coordinator of the PHAST-ID consortium. \u2018It could be as easy to use as a glucometer (glucose meter), of the kind used every day by diabetics.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s one exciting development from the emerging field of biophotonics, where light is also being used to diagnose disease, help surgeons identify tissue for removal, and in high-resolution microscopes that see into living cells to investigate cell division in cancers and the origin of diseases in general. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach year, 70 000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Europe. Around 95 % of people will die within five years, and that\u2019s because standard medical technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound can only spot the disease at a very advanced stage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe PHAST-ID sensor measures changes in a patient\u2019s blood to identify the disease\u2019s telltale chemical patterns, known as biomarkers, well before the pancreas itself shows noticeable symptoms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pre-prepared sensor uses antibodies to identify if the disease is present. A drop of the patient\u2019s blood is put on the sensor and, if the disease is present, then the antigens will bind with the antibodies on the sensor, causing a shift in the spectrum of the light shone through it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Dr Alan O\u2019Riordan, coordinator of the PHAST-ID project\u0022 height=\u0022200\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/HO-Biophotonic-AOR%20profile.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Dr Alan O\u2019Riordan, coordinator of the PHAST-ID project\u0022 width=\u0022306\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EDr Alan O\u2019Riordan, coordinator of the PHAST-ID project\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EDr Alan O\u2019Riordan, coordinator of the PHAST-ID project.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u2018By measuring that shift you can determine if the antigen is there or not and how much of it is there,\u2019 Dr O\u2019Riordan said. \u2018These biomarkers are present in the body anyway, but the concentrations are changed by the cancer \u2013 they go out of kilter. So it\u2019s the patterns of concentration and the changes in those patterns that are really important.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe sensor is based on a photonic crystal and is much smaller than existing technology. It uses a white light source or a basic laser like those in presentation pointers; its detector uses an inexpensive micro-camera like that in a mobile phone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s much faster and easier to do than commonly used methods of diagnosis with antibodies, which usually require samples to be stained or labelled with enzymes or other chemicals and rely on highly trained people and sophisticated laboratory equipment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe disposable sensor can be made using standard microelectronic techniques, such as nanoimprint lithography, and costs as little as EUR 3 to 5 per unit, even before the economies of scale that commercial development could bring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe consortium aims to make the test even more sensitive by adding more of the pancreatic cancer biomarkers to those already included before the project ends in the next few months.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPHAST-ID\u2019s approach could also be developed for other diseases where defined biomarkers have been identified, such as breast cancer or the autoimmune disease lupus.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018These tests could be carried out right at the doctor\u2019s surgery.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Alan O\u2019Riordan, Coordinator, PHAST-ID\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It doesn\u2019t even have to be a disease. Once there is an antibody present for a biological molecule, this platform will use it. It\u2019s a general platform, not a sensor-specific platform for pancreatic cancer,\u2019 Dr O\u2019Riordan said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBiophotonics also holds out strong promise in surgery, to control more precisely the success of medical interventions, said Professor J\u00fcrgen Popp, the coordinator of Photonics4Life, an interdisciplinary network of European researchers and practitioners developed with EU funding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One idea with optical technology is that if you have to cut, for example in heart surgery, whether with a conventional scalpel or a laser scalpel, you can monitor the tissue that is in front of you so you can say: is this a blood vessel, is this a nerve, to ensure you do not destroy things that should not be destroyed,\u2019 Prof. Popp said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers in Germany who are involved with the network are even developing ways to use fluorescence to illuminate colon tumours during surgery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Photonics4Life network aims to help technologists and medical professionals work more closely together in the field of photonics research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe network has also succeeded in encouraging collaboration in local clusters of medical professionals and technical researchers involved in photonics. The aim is to involve medical experts in developing new technologies and to prioritise those most needed from a medical point of view, rather than perfecting the technology and then casting around for an application.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The vision behind biophotonics is that you get a holistic understanding about health and how diseases should be handled in the future,\u2019 said Prof. Popp, who is scientific director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Jena, Germany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The most important result is to get people from the different disciplines together. The idea is that we can encourage a move from a technologically driven approach to a holistic, user-driven approach,\u2019 he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-4whkdohtraza-wtgliiip7u4zasl8ep8oonsqtm225i\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-4WHkdohTrAZA_wTGLIiIp7U4ZaSl8eP8OOnsqtm225I\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]