Monday, 12th June 2006 (4500 views)

Scientists at the University of Nebraska have made a breakthrough that will allow for advances in cancer surgery.

Vivek Maheshwari and Ravi Saraf have found that creating a "sandwich" of gold and cadmium nanoparticle layers can greatly increase the sensitivity of a touch sensor.

The technique uses an image sensor beneath a further layer, this time of glass, which registers changes in electrical current and electroluminescence in the other layers.

Chemical engineering Professor Saraf said: "Using nanoparticles, we can attain resolution close to human touch, which is about 50 times better than what is out there today."

The development means that surgeons' jobs could be made easier, as one of the hardest decisions that face them when operating on cancer patients is where to stop cutting. If they stop too soon they could miss cancer cells, but if they cut too deep they can damage organs unnecessarily.

The research, which was published in the June 9th edition of Science, could have implications for robotics too. But it is the device's potential for fighting cancer that really interests Professor Saraf.

"I am excited about this because I want to try to decipher cancer at the single-cell level," he continued. "Surgeons will be able to know if they have taken out all of the cancer. If they haven't, they'll know where to make the next cut."

 

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