Diagnoses for serious diseases can sometimes come at a high cost, causing health issues to only be discovered when they are too late to be cured.
Recently, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created a disease scanner component that can currently detect cancer cells. The cell scanner component is seen to come in the size of a coin and can track diseased cells, and can be stored in a room temperature location for two months.
The technology uses a DNA-coated electrode and a CRISPR-based enzyme, Cas12. When a target gene from a virus or cancer cell is found, the enzyme activates and begins cutting the DNA on the electrode. This action creates a distinct electrical signal, confirming a positive result. The main challenge in building the scanner is the fragility of the DNA coating, which previously limited the scanner's lifespan to just a few days.
Professor Ariel Furst, who led the research group, solved this problem by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to coat the DNA, allowing it to be stored at temperatures as high as 65.56 Celsius. It was also tested after two months of storage at room temperature, and still managed to accurately detect cancer cells.
This disease cell scanner is seen to allow anyone to scan for diseases quickly, easily and cheaply, and can start the medical phase as soon as possible.