Cancer is one of those diseases that is hard to cure because it is hard to detect. Annually, many die of different types of cancer, and Google wants to give the medical community a hand in this matter. Google will use their advanced technology in making a cancer and heart disease detector through the use of nanoparticles.
Google's X Lab will be responsible for the project and the goal is to develop nanoparticles that will be able to detect cancer cells in the early stages in a non-invasive way, thus helping doctors with early diagnosis and saving more lives.
What may seem like an ambitious project is something that many people are hoping to come to fruition. Google's smart contact lenses are already being developed. These lenses aim to monitor diabetics, hence, the new project might just really happen.
Google will combine the nanoparticles with a wearable sensor and then it will "sniff" out the cancer cells and attach to them. But to be exact, the nanoparticles will be ingested through a pill so it can enter the bloodstream.
Once the nanoparticles bind with a diseased cell, the nanoparticle will travel along with the cell through the bloodstream. Nanoparticles are designed to be magnetic. The wearable sensor will create a magnetic field where it will attract the nanoparticles with the disease cells. When they're gathered, they can now be detected and counted.
It is a fact that in the last 30 years, cancer survival rates have improved due to early detection, which is something that Google pointed out. However, Google also addressed the problem that there's lack of advanced medical equipment to detect these disease cells. A good example is pancreatic cancer where only three percent are detected in its early and curable stage.
According to Daily Mail, Google X Lab's new project was inspired by an employee named Tom Stanis. Stanis was a Google engineer who was accidentally hit by a car when he was riding his bike. During his stay at the emergency room, his medical scans revealed that he had a kidney tumor. He was able to get treatment right away and is now cancer-free.
Stanis is now a part of Google's Life Sciences division and he is hoping to be able to launch this project within the decade.
