X-ray experiment for more accurate cancer tests
Early detection of the spread of rectal cancer is crucial for successful patient treatment. In a Vinnova-funded project, NanoEcho and RISE used X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) to study magnetic nanoparticles. The results have provided NanoEcho with valuable insights that could lead to more reliable diagnostic outcomes.
NanoEcho is a medtech company based in Lund, developing a new diagnostic method to determine whether early-stage rectal cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes. The method is based on magnetomotive ultrasound, where magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) play a key role. To optimize the technology, the company needed a better understanding of how these particles move and respond to varying magnetic fields – especially when embedded in tissue-like materials. Traditional laboratory methods using visible light cannot penetrate thick, opaque materials, making a more advanced solution necessary.
The solution – X-ray particle analysis at a synchrotron facility
Together with RISE, NanoEcho used XPCS – a technique that employs highly coherent X-rays from a synchrotron to measure particle motion in real time. By analyzing small changes in the so-called speckle patterns formed when X-rays scatter in the material, researchers can detect even very slow or subtle movements. Unlike visible light, X-rays can penetrate deep into opaque materials, making XPCS ideal for studying nanoparticles in tissue-like environments. The experiment was conducted at ESRF-EBS in France, one of the world’s most advanced synchrotron facilities where the technique was developed. The setup was adapted to accommodate NanoEcho’s custom probe, which controls the magnetic field over the nanoparticles, as well as 3D-printed sample holders specially designed for the project.
Fine-tuning the technology
By analyzing how the nanoparticles moved under different magnetic fields, researchers could get indications of which MNP and experimental conditions would produce the clearest response. Beside confirming the expected periodic movement of the particles, results provided new insights into how both the intensity and frequency of the magnetic field affect the signal. This type of complex dynamics has yet to be thoroughly modelled and understood at a fundamental level, even offering a novel challenge for academic researchers and technique experts at synchrotron facilities.
For NanoEcho, this provides a basis for continued methodology and model development, which in the next stage will enable fine-tuning of the technology. In the long term, this could contribute to better contrast and more reliable results in cancer diagnostics.