A new ultrasound technique developed by researchers at Heriot-Watt University offers a potentially more accurate and cost-effective way to screen for prostate cancer.
A team at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, leading the clinical trial said recent testing at the Western General Hospital has shown promising results in screening for prostate cancer . The new approach, which uses existing ultrasound technology, demonstrated an initial 94 per cent sensitivity rate in tumour detection, and the test is delivered in under 20 minutes.
The cost of using ultrasounds tech is about 10 per cent that of MRI scanning, which means doctors can now better guide prostate biopsies and focal therapy – which destroys cancer cells, the research team said. One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, with about 52,000 diagnoses in the UK each year (144 a day). Researchers say the current means of testing, called a prostate specific antigen (PSA), is unreliable and means men are sent for expensive MRI scans that can come with long waiting lists. Up to 28 per cent of clinically significant tumours are missed, according to the research team, and one in two individuals with positive MRI findings receive a negative biopsy result. Less Grey Imaging Ltd, a spin-out from Heriot-Watt University, says the technology offers clinicians up to a 20-fold increase in resolution compared with MRIs – which they say provide a grey and difficult-to-read image. The new imaging test begins by injecting a commonly used contrast agent into a vein that contains millions of tiny and harmless microbubbles that travel through the patient’s bloodstream to the prostate. The team uses a technique known as super resolution ultrasound imaging (SRUI) to track these microbubbles as they flow inside the prostate
PROSTATE CANCER ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSIS RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY
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