Researchers from the Basque Technology Centre Ikerlan-IK4 and from Mondragon University are involved in the development of a microchip able to detect, separate and collect tumour cells from blood samples, which might be useful for metastasis detection at early stages.

This new method, that has already been patented, is based on the application of ultrasounds on a small channel through which the blood sample circulates. It is also possible to increase cell collection efficiency by widening the channel size through which the blood flows. The radiation strength resulting from the ultrasound wave provokes that tumour cells, differentiated from the others by size and density, are lead to a set point where they are subsequently collected. Another special feature of this technology is that it maintains cellular properties for further research or biomolecular analyses.

After patenting the system, the research group's work currently aims at increasing the chip's extraction performance to the highest conditions to achieve large scale and clinical use.

The work derives from a project coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and, besides Ikerlan-IK4 and Mondragon Unibertsitatea, it has involved the General Hospital Foundation of the University of Elche, in Alicante.