A PIONEERING technique to detect breast cancer earlier than present methods is to be tested by scientists at Runcorn's Daresbury Laboratory.

Researchers will be examining a new lifesaving device as part of a £1.3 million Euro project.

Daresbury scientist Rob Lewis said: "The potential of this new technique is enormous, but it needs development work before we can say whether it's really going to be of use.

"At present, we're working with biopsy samples.

"In future, it's possible that we could open up a new, much more sensitive way of screening for breast cancer, but there's a lot of work before that can happen."

The new technique uses X-rays from the Daresbury synchrotron light source (SRS) in a new way, allowing objects to be imaged with extraordinary sensitivity and precision compared to ordinary techniques.

Objects as small as one-tenth the size of a full stop in a newspaper can be seen with the technique, even when they are surrounded by an environment that behaves in a similar way.

This makes the technique ideal for detecting very small tumours.

It may also lead to other medical breakthroughs.

Daresbury scientists will be extending the technique to allow full three-dimensional images to be recorded, and the extra resolution of such techniques means that the internal structure of bone can be studied.

It is hoped that this will provide an insight into various bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

"People won't be visiting the lab for breast screening in the future though," said scientist Rob Lewis. "The work at the lab will aim to develop a new technique that can be used on all hospital X-ray machines and provide a gold standard for their calibration."

Britain has one of the highest mortality rate for breast cancer in the world. Breast cancer kills more women in Britain than any other type of cancer.

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