Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment with PointCheck: A Portable Fingernail Scanner

The Need for a Non-invasive Solution in Monitoring White Blood Cell Count

Each year, one million individuals receive chemotherapy in the United States alone. And while cancer remains the leading cause of death globally, resulting in the death of 10 million individuals in 2020, there exists a significant gap in its treatment strategy. One of the major challenges in cancer treatment is the sole method for monitoring white blood cell count through blood draws, which is not an ideal solution. Approximately every 21 days, cancer patients undergo chemotherapy, which lowers their white blood cell count making them more susceptible to infections. These infections could be prevented, but doctors lack a system to accurately assess the patient’s white blood cell levels before and after treatment.

Leuko Labs, founded by researchers from MIT, developed a non-invasive solution known as PointCheck – a portable fingernail scanner that empowers patients to track their white blood cell levels and detect early signs of infection. According to the researchers, it could “eliminate 50% of hospitalizations” in cancer cases. This emerging technology has garnered significant attention for its potential to improve treatment strategies and reduce complications that arise from the world’s most prevalent disease.

How PointCheck Works

Resembling a futuristic fingerprint scanner, the PointCheck is an optic- based device that sees through the skin and counts white blood cells as they flow past a miniature lens. The capillaries at the base of the nail are so narrow and close to the skin that white blood cells must pass through one by one, making them easier to detect. While the device cannot provide an exact count, it can determine whether patients fall above or below the dangerous threshold of 500 neutrophils (the most common type of white blood cells).

The Role of MIT linQ in Fostering Medical Entrepreneurship

Leuko Labs originated a few years ago at the Madrid-MIT M+ Vision Consortium (MIT linQ), an initiative that fosters medical entrepreneurship by connecting promising researchers with MIT faculty to address critical gaps in the field. With the support of this exciting commercial initiative, Leuko’s founders focused on a major challenge in cancer treatment: the sole method for monitoring white blood cell count is through blood draws, which is not ideal.

Benefits of PointCheck Technology

The significance of cancer and finding solutions to improve treatment strategies inspired a group of researchers from MIT to develop a portable monitor that has been designed to help patients track their white blood cell count. The benefits of this technology advancement in healthcare could impact millions undergoing cancer treatment worldwide, as research estimates it could eliminate fifty percent of hospitalizations. As highlighted by Leuko co-founder Carlos Castro-Gonzalez, “One in every six cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy will develop an infection where their white blood cells are critically low… Some of those infections unfortunately end in deaths for patients, which is particularly terrible because they’re due to the treatment rather than the disease.”

Future of PointCheck Methodology

In the future, Leuko Labs plans to branch out into measuring other blood components. But first, they have to pass through a rigorous FDA approval process. For now, PointCheck remains an investigational device. They’ve been developing the product for the past four years, culminating in a study to be submitted to the FDA this year. Their studies thus far have shown exceptional promise, with a prior study published in Scientific Reports showing that their device was 95% accurate.

Conclusion

PointCheck’s viability, its non-invasive and precise methodology in monitoring white blood cell count, has attracted significant attention for the potential to revolutionize the treatment strategies of cancer. This technology advancement will improve current treatment strategies and help reduce the myriad of complications that accompany cancer treatments. The benefits of early detection of white blood cell changes can also help detect the onset of infections more readily, leading to more precise chemotherapy dosage management. PointCheck’s contribution to the world of medical science is indeed a welcome one.

Originally Post From https://interestingengineering.com/health/mit-fingernail-scanner-reduce-cancer-hospitalization

MIT’s Portable Fingernail Scanner Reduces Cancer Hospitalization by Half