Hi-tech band-aid to treat Cancer

A new type of band-aid has been given a high-tech upgrade. According to reports, a company has developed a bandage that can treat skin cancer when combined with light-sensitive drugs.

According to an ANI report, a new type of "plasters" embedded with light-emitting diodes can treat skin cancer when combined with light sensitive drugs. It's being developed by Polymertronics, based in Banbury in the UK. The series of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) embedded in the plasters are being designed for use in photodynamic therapy in which light sensitive drugs are applied to the skin as cream. The drugs are activated when red light is shone on the area,as they soak through the skin, the tumor is destroyed. Currently, the photodynamic therapy is limited to hospitals as the red light is only available via expensive lamps and lasers. Stephen Clemmet, CEO of Polymertronics, says that the light plasters may enable people with skin cancer to treat themselves at home soon. "We''re looking at developing a faster, cheaper, easier way to treat skin cancer,” New Scientist magazine quoted him as saying. "OLEDs emit light when a voltage is applied to them. For making the plasters, the company has developed a way to print 4-millimetre square clusters of battery-powered red OLEDs onto a strip of flexible plastic. They have made sure that the pattern of OLEDs exactly matches the shape of the patient''s tumour. The plaster is then placed over the tumour, allowing the red light to be targeted directly at the cancerous tissue." Lab experiments have shown that LEDs have the ability to destroy cancer cells, they hope to begin human trials of the plasters soon. Polymertronics presented the plasters at a meeting on polymer electronics in London, and hopes to launch them commercially within two years. The invention would be a breakthrough in cancer treatment.