In today’s point-of-care (POC) market segment, there is an ever-increasing demand for novel and more efficient devices for the early diagnosis of diseases, with a special interest in cancer. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), each year approximately 7.5 million people around the world die because of this disease. Despite these numbers, the WHO states that most cancer types have high cure rates when detected early and treated according to best practices. Therefore, having early and trustful detection tools for the implementation of preventive mass screening programs is a key factor for reducing cancer mortality rates.
On the other hand, the scientific community has recognised the importance of nanotechnology for the current market, with improved performances and functionalities compared to existing technologies and opening the field of applications from health and energy to environmental issues. Among them, nanophotonic technology is one of the main candidates for the creation of the core transduction elements of future high-performance biosensors since it provides significant advantages such as high sensitivity, compactness and high integration level, shorter time to result, label-free detection, and use of very low sample volumes.
Within this context, the SAPHELY project aims at developing a compact and low-cost POC device based on nanophotonic technology for its application to minimally-invasive early diagnosis, with initial focus in cancer. This POC device will significantly help to reduce the actual costs designated for early diagnosis and to implement mass screening programs, meaning a significant contribution to the improvement of the citizens’ health status and to the sustainability of healthcare systems.
