Preclinical
studies use specialized ultrasound to detect presence of cancer
by Mary
Ruth — last modified Jul 10, 2012 12:30 PM
Chapel Hill
- From the air, the twists and turns of rivers can easily be seen. In the body,
however, tracing the twists and turns of blood vessels is difficult, but
important. Vessel “bendiness” can indicate the presence and progression of
cancer.
This
principle led UNC scientists to a new method of using a high-resolution
ultrasound to identify early tumors in preclinical studies. The method, based on vessel bendiness or
“tortuosity,” potentially offers an inexpensive, non-invasive and fast method
to detect cancer that could someday help doctors identify cancers when tumors
are less than a centimeter in size.
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