Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in the US have created a magnetic wire to capture free-floating tumour cells in the blood patients.
Expected to aid in early diagnosis, the wire is threaded into a vein to detect even scarce and hard-to-capture tumour cells.
The wire attracts unique magnetic nanoparticles that have been engineered with an antibody to bind to any tumour cells circulating in the bloodstream and pull them out.