MIT Researchers Slash Cancer Detection Tech Costs by 1000x with $100 Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Device

Doctors typically use $100,000 equipment to detect cancer in patients. Is this a waste of money? It may certainly seem so.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are conducting a technical assessment of a technology known as fluorescence lifetime imaging, which costs only $100.

“The device currently costs $100,000 to produce,” Ayush Bhandari, a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab and one of the system’s developers, told Boston Business Journal. “Regardless of the type of biological laboratory, they tend to share resources or research findings among themselves. However, purely academic research that remains detached from the market can be counterproductive. If laboratories can demonstrate consumer products for sale that stimulate purchase intent, it would not only accelerate research progress but also speed up cancer diagnosis, saving time.”

Therefore, the $100 product clearly reduces costs, and practical diagnostic technologies will be adopted more rapidly in developing countries.

This technology employs fluorescence lifetime, or fluorescence decay time, a technique based on the principle that fluorophores absorb light and re-emit it within a short period. Through interactions with specific chemical substances, the time interval between fluorescence absorption and emission can be modulated in a predictable manner. In cancer cells, fluorophores require a longer time to absorb and emit light; however, measuring this using current microscopy techniques is costly.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to use cheaper technology, similar to Microsoft’s Kinect, combined with specific computer algorithms to obtain the same fluorescence lifetime data.

As reported by the Boston Business Journal:
Similar to Kinect technology, the principle by which time-of-flight sensors "see" images is analogous to how bats navigate during flight. Bats use pulses for aerial navigation; when these acoustic pulses encounter obstacles, they reflect back as signals. However, unlike bats that rely on sonar, time-of-flight sensors utilize light pulses. Although Kinect devices typically measure distances to objects, scientists are also able to measure time, given the linear relationship between time and distance.

The crux of the issue is that the sensors lack sufficient sensitivity to enable rapid time measurements. To address this, researchers have developed a method capable of emitting light waves at 50 different frequencies. With these data, computers can determine the equations suitable for measuring both distance and time across all scenarios.

Currently, MIT has a major project aimed at improving the imaging technology of time-of-flight sensors, enabling cameras to even capture images around corners. “We are exploring ways to expand the applications of transient imaging technology, hoping to benefit all imaging-related inspections and address existing gaps, turning the impossible into the possible,” said Bhandari.

Translation: Chen Kun

Responsible Editor: Zhang Nan