Something has just been invented that happens to be unique, yet absolutely incredible. It is called the “smart needle,” and was developed by scientists from the University of Exeter. It is able to speed up cancer detection and diagnosis periods. The researchers who developed it believe it will specifically help with diagnosing lymphoma. It’ll also reduce anxiety patients might have as they wait on results. Quite frankly, if you don’t have to wait long at all, how could you become anxious, right?
[Image via Nursing Times]That said, the way lymphoma is tested for now is that one provides a sample of their cells. This will also involve a biopsy of the node, which will be carried out to fully diagnose someone. As you can assume, this is quite time-consuming. The Smart Needle utilizes something referred to as Raman Spectroscopy. It merely shines a low-power laser into the part of the body that is being inspected. It takes mere seconds to spot any potential concerns. This could heavily change how the future might look in how we test for other cancers too! That could take a few years, however.