Monday, December 12, 2005

Cell Phones to Screen for Cancer Cells

Filed under: Diagnostics

A tipster sent us this report about a cell phone that can diagnose breast cancer, via an (infrared) camera:

By installing new software and adding a basic infrared camera, a mobile phone could be transformed into a highly-effective diagnostic tool, offering far more accurate results than the self-checks many women do themselves, the Haaretz Daily reported.

Dr Nitzan Yaniv, who developed the technology, said the results of the scan could be immediately transferred to a medical laboratory for analysis, which could determine whether further checks were necessary.

The infrared camera uses two techniques, both of which have proven effective in diagnosing breast cancer: one which analyzes temperature differences in different parts of the breast, while the other analyses oxygen flow to areas of the breast.

Imagine -- mobile phones diagnosing one form of cancer, even as they cause another!

Kidding aside, we're all for putting medical technology in the hands of patients. But after witnessing so much grief and alarm over mammography results (operated by experienced techs, interpreted by trained radiologists, and performed under the best of conditions) -- we wonder if these phones will do more harm than good.

Especially when this guy starts offering mammography services.

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