Will future smartphones be able to detect cancer?
What started off in the basement of Raviv Melamed’s house resulted in a sensor that would allow devices to “see through” barriers such as skin and walls, with its first application having the ability to see malignant growth through human tissue to identify early-stage breast cancer.
"When you start to look for things like breast cancer imaging, you realize why 40 percent of women don't go get biannual testing, because it's very uncomfortable," Melamed told CNBC in a recent interview. "Now think about a woman who doesn't make a lot of money. She has to drive to the clinic and take the day off. She would prefer to take this day off when needed. I was thinking about bringing the device to the woman rather than the woman to the device."
After releasing a device called Walabot, which is a smartphone attachment allowing a person to hold their handset to a wall to see objects on the other side, Melamed and his team are hoping they can do much more with this x-ray vision, such as detect cancer using future smartphones.
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Jodelle joined TriMed Media Group in 2016 as a senior writer, focusing on content for Radiology Business and Health Imaging. After receiving her master's from DePaul University, she worked as a news reporter and communications specialist.