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UCLA researchers’ new technique improves accuracy, ease of cancer diagnosis

‘Deformability cytometry’ can closely analyze more than 1,000 cells per second

A team of researchers from UCLA and Harvard University have demonstrated a technique that, by measuring the physical properties of individual cells in body fluids, can diagnose cancer with a high degree of accuracy.

The technique, which uses a deformability cytometer to analyze individual cells, could reduce the need for more cumbersome diagnostic procedures and the associated costs, while improving accuracy over current methods. The initial clinical study, which analyzed pleural fluid samples from more than 100 patients, was published in the current issue of peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. (more…)

When Cells Hit the Wall: UCLA Engineers Put The Squeeze on Cells to Diagnose Disease

By Guest PostMay 6, 2012Health, Scienceaids, amander clark, balloon, cancer, cells, chemical tags, chronic inflammation, cytopathologist, daniel gossett, deformability cytometer, diagnose disease, dino di carlo, dna arrangement, elastic properties, extract information, henry tse, honey, immune disorder, immune system, infection, jian yu rao, mesothelial cells, microfluidic chip, nuclei, rubber balloon, shape, software, steven chu, Technology, ucla engineers, viscous, white blood cells

If you throw a rubber balloon filled with water against a wall, it will spread out and deform on impact, while the same balloon filled with honey, which is more viscous, will deform much less. If the balloon’s elastic rubber was stiffer, an even smaller change in shape would be observed.

By simply analyzing how much a balloon changes shape upon hitting a wall, you can uncover information about its physical properties.

Although cells are not simple sacks of fluid, they also contain viscous and elastic properties related to the membranes that surround them; their internal structural elements, such as organelles; and the packed DNA arrangement in their nuclei. Because variations in these properties can provide information about cells’ state of activity and can be indicative of diseases such as cancer, they are important to measure. (more…)

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UCLA researchers’ new technique improves accuracy, ease of cancer diagnosis

When Cells Hit the Wall: UCLA Engineers Put The Squeeze on Cells to Diagnose Disease