{"id":129706,"date":"2017-11-09T01:24:35","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T06:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=129706"},"modified":"2017-11-09T01:24:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T06:24:35","slug":"ontario-students-win-international-prize-for-cancer-detecting-device","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/11\/09\/ontario-students-win-international-prize-for-cancer-detecting-device\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario students win international prize for cancer detecting device"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A group of four McMaster University students has won a $50,000 prize to develop their idea for a handheld device that detects skin cancer. (Photo: Daily News\/McMaster University<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO\u2014A group of four McMaster University students has won a $50,000 prize to develop their idea for a handheld device that detects skin cancer.<\/p>\n

The recent grads \u2014 all students in electrical biomedical engineering at the Hamilton university \u2014 earned the International James Dyson Award for their final year project, called The sKan.<\/p>\n

They say the non-invasive device can diagnose melanoma by monitoring the heat emissions of various cells.<\/p>\n

The heat map it creates shows which cells recover more quickly from thermal shock, indicating the presence of skin cancer.<\/p>\n

Its creators are 22-year-old Rotimi Fadiya, and 23-year-olds Prateek Mathur, Michael Takla and Shivad Bhavsar.<\/p>\n

Takla and Fadiya say they will use the prize money to refine their device and work toward clinical trials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole experience has been kind of unreal,\u201d says Takla, now working for Ontario Power Generation in the Niagara Region as an electrical engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hearing that we won kind of gives us a lot of validation, let’s us know that we’re on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team’s British benefactor James Dyson, best known for inventing a bagless vacuum, says in a statement that he chose the sKan because of its \u201cpotential to save lives around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early diagnostic methods for melanoma rely heavily on visual inspections, which can be inaccurate.<\/p>\n

And while many thermal imaging diagnostics cost upward of $50,000, the sKan costs less than $1,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the opportunities are endless when you look ahead, and I can’t wait to explore the various ways we can take this forward,\u201d says Fadiya, born in Nigeria and raised in Barrie, Ont.<\/p>\n

He’d like to begin preclinical studies in the next six to eight months, but says seeking approval for possible use in homes or hospitals is still years away.<\/p>\n

The device beat out rivals including a robotic arm from Italy that is able to print 3D objects, and a German device that makes it easier to puncture veins with a catheter on the first try.<\/p>\n

This is the second time in the prize’s 13-year history that a Canadian team has earned the top spot.<\/p>\n

In 2015, a team of University of Waterloo students developed Voltera V-One, a circuit board printer that can create boards in minutes.<\/p>\n

It also follows a national prize for a team from the University of Toronto. Robert Brooks and Justin Wee were recognized for developing a surgical instrument add-on that measures forces exerted on tissue from minimally invasive surgery. They won $3,400 from Dyson in September.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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