A handheld optical scanner to detect skin cancer, “bladeless” cataract surgery, and an amazing new headache treatment are among the Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2013 selected by a panel of Cleveland Clinic scientists and researchers.
A surprising government program also made the list, unveiled at the clinic’s Medical Innovation Summit. To qualify, a breakthrough had to offer a major improvement in patient care, have a high probability of success, and must either be on the market now or be close to being introduced.
Here’s a look at the remarkable therapies and game-changing technologies expected to dramatically reshape healthcare—and save lives—over the next year:
Most dermatologists still decide which moles require a biopsy by good old fashioned eye-balling, but a new device developed by researchers at British Colombia Cancer Agency (BCCA) could remove that guesswork, using a handheld laser to quickly identify problem spots that require closer examination.
Called the Verisante Aura, the device employs Raman spectroscopy to identify the molecular makeup of moles by changing the vibrational state of the molecular bonds in a skin growth. Shining a particular laser light on those bonds causes a shift in the kind of light that is reflected back to a sensor, and that shift belies exactly what kinds of molecules are there and in what concentration they exist.
This is a preview of New Handheld LASER Scanner Detects Skin Cancer Instantly..
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DEFINITION
Choroidal melanoma is a cancer of the eye that develops in a part of the eye called the choroid, the spongelike membrane that lies between the sclera (the white of the eye) and the retina. The choroid is rich in blood vessels and supplies nutrients to the retina, the light-sensitive back of the eye that sends visual information to the brain. Although choroidal melanoma is a rare form of cancer, it is the most common cancer that develops in the eye in adults.
CLINICAL SYMPTOMS
This cancer often doesn’t cause any symptoms in its early stages, so the tumor may grow for some time before the problem becomes noticeable. When symptoms occur, they include blurred vision, floaters, flashing lights, or severe eye pain. These symptoms also can be caused by many other, more common, noncancerous causes.
BIOMEDICAL ASPECT
This is a preview of CHOROIDAL MELANOMA-DISEASE ARTICLE SERIES COVERING BIOMEDICAL ASPECT.
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