Hello, My father-in-law has cancer that has spread throughout his body. He is currently on Chemo to extend his life. My brother's wife is in remission from breast and brain cancer. The link below takes you to idea I have about early cancer detection. It is likely not technically feasible in the near future, but I hope it inspires others to develop new early detection methods. Please click on the link below and read a short description about using nanobots to detect cancer from within a patient. Just opening the page counts as your vote in a NASA Tech Brief design contest. The top 10 most visited entries win $250 each. Thanks for your help! http://www.createthefuturecontest.com/pages/view/entriesdetail.html?entryID=525 Best Regards, Steven
Excellent idea, however realistically, how would we be able to make nanobots as advanced as you explained or let alone make them small enough to move around with ease in the human cardiovascular system? The smallest robot ever made was 0.3 cm in length which is very large in terms of how small capillaries and small blood vessels are. How can you be sure that this nanobot will not cause irritations in the liver, kidneys, or even the ventricles in the heart? Any complications with heart valves could be fatal. You have a very well done proposition, but it just isn't realistic for the kind of technology we have right now. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Borsviek, Thanks for your comments. Perhaps instead of nanobots, it would be a designed series of nanomolecules. Propulsion would be provided for by the circulation of blood. The reaction of nanomolecules with a cancer cells would cause a patient detectable alert. The size / chemical structure would need to be optimized to avoid issues with bodily organs. Perhaps a nanomolecule could resemble an existing injected medication. Thanks again, Steven
That could definitely work, many of the reasons in why cancer patients die is because they are diagnosed with cancer when it has already begun advancing away from its place of origin. Knowing if someone has cancer right away can help save a lot more lives.
That is clearly the case with my father-in-law. His cancer is a fast spreading type and they can only extend his life with Chemo. He has three children and four grandchilden. Even a yearly exam would have likely missed detecting it.
