Static Droplet Microfluidic device could aid cancer diagnosis

Cancer is a leading cause of illness and death in Australia, with over 150,000 people diagnosed annually. Those with suspected cancer often require surgery for a definitive diagnosis.

Professor Majid Warkiani from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) School of Biomedical Engineering said getting a biopsy can cause discomfort to patients, as well as an increased risk of complications due to surgery and higher costs, but an accurate cancer diagnosis is vital to effective treatment.

“Managing cancer through the assessment of tumour cells in blood samples is far less invasive than taking tissue biopsies. It allows doctors to do repeat tests and monitor a patient’s response to treatment,” he said in a statement.

According to UTS, the Static Droplet Microfluidic device is able to rapidly detect circulating tumour cells that have broken away from a primary tumour and entered the bloodstream. The device uses a unique metabolic signature of cancer to differentiate tumour cells from normal blood cells.

The study, Rapid metabolomic screening of cancer cells via high-throughput static droplet microfluidics, has been published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.