What breakthrough device did scientists at Westlake University develop to detect early-stage cancer biomarkers from a single drop of blood with up to 94.9 percent accuracy, and how does its compact size and sensitivity compare to conventional methods according to their study publ

They developed a compact photonic cancer-detection device built around a strongly coupled 3D BIC metasurface biosensor, described by Westlake University’s team as an ultrasensitive biosensing platform for detecting trace cancer biomarkers from a single drop of blood. In their reported tests, it identified early-stage lung-cancer biomarkers with up to 94.9 percent accuracy, and media coverage of the study says it was about 10,000 times more sensitive than conventional detection methods while being compact enough for handheld use.

• The core breakthrough was a metasurface-based photonic biosensor, not a standard lab benchtop assay.
• It was designed to work from a single drop of blood for early cancer-biomarker detection.