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MU researcher uses sound to detect skin cancer

MU assistant professor of biological engineering John Viator uses a method called photoacoustic detection, which combines laser and ultrasound techniques, to speed melanoma diagnosis.

Hearing Cancer (WMV)

By Jason Jenkins

For the more than 60,000 people who will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, the key to survival is early-stage detection. A new diagnostic tool created by MU researchers will enable physicians to accurately monitor for cancer by "listening" for it in a simple blood sample.

MU assistant professor of biological engineering John Viator uses a method called photoacoustic detection, which combines laser and ultrasound techniques, to speed melanoma diagnosis.

When melanoma cells are exposed to blue-laser light, they vibrate, emitting a distinct, high-frequency sound wave. Although these sound waves aren't audible to the human ear, Viator can detect them with special microphones. Other human cells do not contain the same pigments as melanin, so the melanin signature is easy to distinguish, he said. "The only reason there could be melanin in the human blood is that there would be melanoma cells," Viator said.

In lab tests, the MU team was able to detect melanoma cells obtained from actual patients, showing that the method can spot as few as 10 cells in saline solution.

By speeding diagnosis, photoacoustic detection will allow doctors to treat and remove melanoma at its earliest stages, preventing the spread to other parts of the body. And, the blood test produces fast results. "It could take just 30 minutes to find out if there are any circulating cancer cells," said Viator, who also is working to extend the reach of photoacoustics to other types of cancer.