Portuguese Designer Susana Soares Develops Cancer Detection Device Using Trained Bees
Portuguese designer Susana Soares has made significant strides in developing a novel device for detecting cancer and other serious diseases using trained honey bees. Her project, named Bee’s, was showcased at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, where she demonstrated how the device utilizes the remarkable olfactory abilities of bees to identify specific chemical biomarkers associated with various health conditions.
How It Works
The Bee’s apparatus consists of a glass chamber with two enclosures: a larger chamber housing trained bees and a smaller diagnostic chamber where patients exhale. When a patient breathes into the smaller chamber, the bees are released from the larger chamber and will fly into the smaller one if they detect the target odor linked to a disease. As Soares explains, “Trained bees only rush into the smaller chamber if they can detect the odour on the patient’s breath that they have been trained to target.”
The Training Process
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are known for their exceptional sense of smell, which is more acute than that of sniffer dogs, allowing them to detect airborne molecules at parts-per-trillion levels. The training process is straightforward and quick; it involves exposing the bees to a specific odor while providing them with a sugar-water solution as a reward. This method creates an association between the odor and food, enabling the bees to remember the scent for their entire lifespan, which averages around six weeks.
Diseases Detectable by Bees
Scientific research has shown that trained bees can accurately diagnose several diseases at early stages, including:
- Tuberculosis
- Lung cancer
- Skin cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Diabetes
Additionally, bees have been utilized in various applications beyond medical diagnostics, such as detecting explosives in counter-terrorism operations.
Broader Implications
Soares emphasizes that there is considerable interest in her project from charities and organizations focused on cost-effective early disease detection, particularly in developing countries. The goal of Bee’s is not only to enhance current technological research but also to create systems that are accessible and understandable to people, thereby fostering significant changes in health awareness and practices.
Future Prospects
Despite its innovative approach, Soares acknowledges challenges in bringing this concept to market. The medical technology field tends to favor established electronic solutions over biological methods like bee detection. However, she remains optimistic about the potential of her design: “It has the potential to save so many lives,” she states, suggesting that it could even be developed as an open-source project for interested collaborators.
In summary, Susana Soares’ Bee’s project represents an intriguing intersection of design, biology, and health technology, showcasing how we might leverage natural systems to enhance human diagnostic capabilities.
Read More
[1] https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/20/honey-bees-can-be-trained-to-detect-cancer-in-ten-minutes-says-designer-susana-soares/
[2] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/can-bees-be-trained-to-sniff-out-cancer-180948269/