Scientists develop cancer test using linear particle accelerator

Physicists from Liverpool University and clinicians from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital are leading the latest project at ALICE — a facility that is managed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

The aim of the research is to develop a diagnostic test for tissue obtained by endoscopy from patients with a precursor condition called Barrett’s oesophagus.

Barrett’s patients are at significant risk of developing full-blown cancer and are regularly monitored to detect changes in their condition. Despite this patients often present with tumours at an advanced stage, when surgical removal is no longer possible.

‘The problem is that even with the best histological techniques, it isn’t terribly accurate,’ Prof Weightman of Liverpool’s physics department told The Engineer.

Weightman previously performed preliminary work on oesophageal cancer at the Diamond Light Source accelerator at Harwell, but says that ALICE provides considerably more power.

One of its abilities is to produce an extremely intense, high-frequency source of infrared light through its InfraRed Free Electron Laser (IRFEL), enabling near-field imaging — also called scanning near-field microscopy.