Irish Mirror
23rd October 2013
GPs can use this new device to spot the disease early. A new cutting-edge scanner that would enable GPs to detect cancer early is being developed by an Irish company. Experts are researching and creating the small hand-held gadget which will be radiation-free – meaning it is safer for patients than X-ray and MRI scans.
A spokesman for Microelectronic Circuits Centre Ireland, which is the brains behind the device, said he believes the development could be huge in the battle against the disease. Mark Barry said: “We would see this as being very beneficial for the curing of cancer. Usually, if a doctor has suspicions a patient may have a tumour they send them for an X-ray.
“As everybody knows, sometimes small tumours are missed by conventional methods.
“So we are confident that this could pick up traces of cancer and small tumours much earlier than the other methods.
“This in turn will lead to a larger number of people being diagnosed earlier and cured.
“The potential is huge. We are still in the early stages of development but we’re working with a number of companies and hopefully a firm will get involved and take this into the next stage.”