Measured diagnosis

Jye Smith, a PhD medical physics researcher at

, has developed a new diagnostic technique using bioimpedance spectroscopy to diagnose cervical and skin cancers.

Bioimpedance measures the electrical characteristics of biological tissue and is used by gyms to calculate amounts of lean tissue, water and fat.

‘It has only recently been applied to biological tissue to determine healthy, cancerous or dead cells,’ Mr Smith said. ‘It offers the possibility of a simple device that can be run over the surface of the skin or internal organ that can quickly, cheaply and accurately record changes in cellular structure that point to cancerous changes.’

Mr Smith said the bioimpedance technique sent tiny electrical currents into the tissue.

‘By running the currents through a surface it can identify the boundaries of a lesion,’ he said. ‘If a cell's structure has changed, the impedance characteristics change and clinicians can use the changes to diagnose the type of lesion.’