DETECTING CANCER WITHOUT RADIATION EXPOSURE

[Anchor Lead]

PET-CT which is used to diagnose cancer is highly accurate in early detection of cancer, but there were concerns over radiation exposure. Now a team of Korean scientists has developed a medical imaging device that can locate cancer without radiation exposure.

[Pkg]

The PET-CT, used to diagnose cancer. A greater amount of radioactive drug injected into the body is collected in cancer cells, showing where cancer has occurred. But the amount of radiation exposure during the process is equivalent to taking 140 X-rays. Now the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute developed a medical imaging device that can locate cancer by injecting iron oxide particles instead of a radioactive tracer. The particles coated with antigens and antibodies stick to cancer cells and the machine analyzes the signals emitted from them.

[Soundbite] HONG HYO-BONG(ETRI) : "Unlike the radiation-based PET-CT, our technology can pinpoint where cancer has occurred using fine iron particles and 3D electromagnetic field."

ETRI has become the third in the world to develop iron oxide-based medical imaging equipment following big names like Philips Healthcare. But the Korean version uses only a hundredth of the power needed in its foreign counterparts and therefore does not require a large cooling system. Also, its production cost can be slashed to one-twentieth of the foreign machines. It's still undergoing animal testing, but doctors already have high expectations for the product.

[Soundbite] PROF. SONG DAE-YONG(SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, EULJI UNIVERSITY) : "This method is safer than PET-CT as it uses harmless iron oxide nano-particles to locate cancer tissues and lesions in the body."

The research team expects the equipment to be commercialized within the next seven years.