Research Team Led by Professor Kim Minsuk Publishes Paper in Globally Recognized Biosensor Journal
- 작성처
- Date2020.07.10
- 11461
A research team led by Professor Kim Minsuk at the Ewha School of Medicine discovered methods to detect cancer cells through AI-based technology utilizing micro-vibrations. This research finding has been published in the globally recognized journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics (ranked first in JCR Chemistry and Analytical in 2019). The published paper credits Professor Kim as the corresponding author and Kim Hye-yun, a student of the combined master-doctoral program at the Ewha School of Medicine, as the lead author.
The research team analyzed a video documenting the flow of breast cancer cells in blood using an AI-based software called a "motion microscope," which was developed by Dr. Abe Davis at MIT. As a result, the team found that a long, wave-shaped tail appeared to trail behind cancer cells. The tail, which was named the "cellular trail," could be observed only in cancer cells at the frequency range between 0.5 to 1.5 Hz, and could not be found in normal blood cells. In addition, the team found that the cellular trail disappeared when the proteins comprising the cancer cell membrane were partially removed, and based on this observation, it was discovered that the cellular trail is caused by micro-vibrations from friction that arises when the uneven surface of the cancer cell moves within a fluid. By using the artificial intelligence based on TensorFlow, a machine learning engine developed by Google, the presence of cancer can be determined based on the cellular trail without requiring visual confirmation.
This technology allows the diagnosis of cancer at a lower cost without the need to utilize antibodies, fluorescent materials and radioactive substances, and enhances the accuracy of diagnoses when identifying cancer tissues based on MRI or X-ray. It also helps to determine if cancer stem cells remain circulating in the blood after a cancer removal surgery, and is expected to improve public health by making it possible to determine cancer cells in the blood during the process of blood donation by the general public.