Comments by "roidroid" (@roidroid) on "Хорхе Сото: Будущее ранней диагностики рака?" video.

  1. He's looking at the types of MicroRNA (miRNA) in the blood.  It's kindof like searching through the local landfill, analyzing people's thrown-out paperwork and reciepts, to get an idea of how many people are (for example) actively committing tax fraud.  Every activity has a specific signature.  If you find a lot of receipts for paints and paper, you may conclude that there's a lot of artists in the area.  If you find a lot of receipts for bullets and bombs, maybe you've got a military situation on your hands. MicroRNA is like the thrown-out paperwork.  By analyzing it, you can figure out what the cells in the body are doing.  Different types of cells emit specific signatures or patterns of MicroRNA, and cells with cancer also have specific signatures. The various vials in his device each contain a unique mix of chemicals which only react with specific types of MicroRNA, if you add that MicroRNA into the vial it will glow, how fast and how bright it glows can tell you how much of the MicroRNA is in the vial.  The camera then looks at the vials, in a controlled lighting environment (that's why it's in a closed box).  This allows the speed and brightness information of the vials to be converted into simple data, which can be graphed.  The graph is like a signature, which tells you if you have cancer, and what type it is. Over time, we'll discover more signatures, and be able to identify more cancers.
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  2. The test grid is only 8x12, so you only need an 8x12 resolution camera.  Any $1 webcam from ebay would do it. It could also just be done in a hand-held device, as tiny as a diabetic's blood sugar monitor.
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