Wired.com:
A new light-activated therapy could make skin cancer treatment painless, inexpensive and portable.
Scottish company Lumicure has developed a portable device that combines a tiny light, a photosensitizing cream and a bandage that, if approved by the Food and Drug Administration, could treat skin cancer conveniently with molecular precision.
‘It can be worn by the patient in a (Band-Aid), while the battery is carried like an iPod,’ said professor Ifor Samuel (photot) of the Organic Semiconductor Centre at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews, who helped develop the technology, in a statement.
Skin cancer, which typically requires painful or invasive treatments, affects 40% of all Americans at some point during their lives. The Lumicure treatment would cost between $200 and $300, compared with roughly $15,000 to $20,000 for the standard therapy. It could also eliminate the need for chemotherapy in some cases.
Lumicure’s treatment is a new twist on an existing treatment called photodynamic therapy. It starts with a cream containing aminolevulinic acid, which becomes photosensitive when it comes in contact with a cancer lesion. When exposed to light, the cream interacts with only the cancerous cells, making it a very selective skin treatment.
Lumicure’s light source is a low-powered organic light-emitting diode embedded in a small adhesive device. Its battery module - roughly the size of an MP3 player - fits easily in a pocket. More.
Subscribe 
