A team of medical and biotechnology students from Canada's McMaster University wins the 2017 James Dyson Award with the sKan. The sKan is a low-cost device for non-invasive detection of melanomas, a form of skin cancer.
The detection of melanomas largely depends on visual inspections, which determine whether it is necessary to take a biopsy of a suspicious spot. These visual inspections are performed manually by doctors, which risks misjudging a spot.
Making detection simpler and cheaper
With the sKan, Michael Takla, Rotimi Fadiya, Prateek Mathur and Shivad Bhavsar - all medical and biotechnology students from Canada's McMaster University - aim to make melanoma detection easier and more accurate. The device is aimed at general practitioners, who can use the sKan to instantly perform reliable analysis of suspicious spots on the skin.
Research shows that cancer tissue heats up faster than 'normal' tissue. The sKan uses this property to detect melanomas. When using the device, the skin around the suspected tissue is first cooled, after which the sKan uses temperature sensors to measure the rate at which the tissue reheats. The results of these measurements are collected in a heat map and timeline, both of which can be accessed on a regular computer.
Performing fewer biopsies
The data collected using the sKan allows doctors to assess whether a suspicious spot on the skin needs further investigation or is harmless. As a result, fewer biopsies are expected to need to be performed, saving money. It also eliminates the need to rely on visual inspection of the suspicious tissue, reducing the likelihood of misjudgement.
"We discovered research that uses the thermal properties of cancer tissue as a method to detect melanomas. However, this was done using expensive laboratory equipment. We therefore set to work to apply this research and develop a way to perform the same assessment with a more cost-effective solution," Mathur explains.
Available to the general public
"By using widely available and low-cost components, the sKan makes the detection of melanomas available to the general public," said Sir James Dyson, a British inventor known for, among other things, the Dyson hoovers. Dyson is the founder of the James Dyson Award, an international award given to designers who have developed a product that solves a problem. The product must be commercially viable, designed with sustainability in mind and have a purpose that is both essential and practical. The winner of the award will receive €37,500.
The McMaster University team plans to use the prize money to further develop the design of the sKan and develop a new prototype that can be used to perform preclinical tests. "Our ambitions have become a reality," Mathur said. "Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer worldwide. The potential to positively impact the lives of people affected by it makes us both humbled and motivated."
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: James Dyson Award
Source: McMaster University
Source photo: McMaster University
