Cancer claims more than 10 million lives every year globally. Research shows that detecting cancer early can greatly improve a patient’s chance of survival. And yet we lack reliable, affordable tools for early detection.

Scientists are now discovering that our bodies may carry early warning signals packaged within tiny, bubble-like particles that circulate in bodily fluids like blood.

In the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, we are developing a new technology to capture these particles and read their signals. Our recent work suggests that the electrical signals of these particles could offer a fast, label-free way to use them for diagnostic applications.

Our goal is to develop simple and non-invasive tests for early cancer detection.

The challenge of early detection

When cancer is found earlier, physicians can start treatment sooner. This helps to save more lives and lower health-care costs for both families and health-care systems.

However, many cancers are still not diagnosed until they are at an advanced stage. This is often because patients are either asymptomatic or dismiss their symptoms because they ascribe them to less serious causes.

Physicians often use bodily fluid tests to look for hidden warning signs in people who do not yet show symptoms of disease. These tests search for special substances (called biomarkers) that........

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