Mouth cancer diagnosis simplified with a smart ‘lollipop’

Ruchi Gupta, associate professor of Biosensors at the University of Birmingham, has been awarded £350,000 over the next three years by SU2C and EPSRC to make a prototype flavoured ‘lollipop’.

The ‘lollipop’ will be created from a smart hydrogel previously developed by Ruchi and her team. Patients suck on the lollipop, transferring a saliva sample into the hydrogel. Scientists can then analyse the liquid for saliva proteins, which indicate the early stages of mouth cancer.

Ruchi said, “Smart hydrogels have exciting potential for diagnosing mouth cancer. They can be easily moulded into shapes as a solid to ‘catch’ proteins in saliva.

“We’re really excited to start the next phase of this project. We’re hoping that we can be the first to make a device which is much kinder for diagnosing mouth cancer for patients and easier for GPs to use.”