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Rice University Professor John McDevitt holds the LabNow device to read nano-bio-chips that will look for signs of oral cancer and other diseases April 26-May 2, 20106 News United Kingdom Edition G DPUK, a website for den- tists wanting to share ide- as and informa-tion, has recently added a dental exhibition review section to its site. Everyonewhoisworkingwithin the dental arena, including the exhibitors at the events, who are registered on GDPUK, can access the section, Dental Show Reviews. The section has information about dental exhibitions and con- ferences and dental professionals can compare key aspects using a simple star rating system. The site benefits from being an independent source of information. Exhibition visitors will be able to rate the events on an on- going basis so comments will al- ways be up to date and relevant. Information provided by organisers, the quality of spe- akers, general organisation, value for money and usefulness are amongst the aspects that are rated. Tony Jacobs, owner of GDPUK, a practising dentist in Manchester, said: “We all know that different events appeal to differ- ent people depen- ding on type of practice, special- ist area or if seek- ing new equip- ment for the prac- tice or laboratory. “Thisonlinese- rvice helps mem- bers of the team to select the event most suitable to their needs and give preference to the events rated highly. “We all have to ensure that if we take time outof the practice, it is vital to get the maximum re- turn and making a wise choice about the dental event to attend is the only way of assisting this.” Anyone rating a dental event that they have recently attended, will be entered into a draw to win an iPod Nano! It takes only a few minutes to register free on the site, visit www.gdpuk.com to register and http://www.dentalshowreviews. co.uk to vote. DT A new diagnostic tool to help detect oral cancer in its early stages has successfully been developed by researchers. The highly-receptive instru- ment, which looks similar to a toothbrush, is able to achieve extremely accurate results by lightly touching a lesion on the tongue or cheek. Trials carried out on the nano-bio-chip sensor showed it was 97 per cent ‘sensitive’ and 93 per cent specific in detecting which patients had malignant or premalignant lesions – res- ults that compared well with traditional tests. Chief executive of the Brit- ish Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, has welco- med the new technology into the dental practice. DrCartersaid:“Mouthcancer is a deadly and debilitating dis- ease that would greatly benefit from such early diagnostic tech- nology as the nano-bio-chip. “Currently the best chance of beating the cancer comes from early detection, which improves survival rates to 90 per cent. “Mouth cancer is a potential- ly fatal condition that is taking more lives each year. Without early diagnosis, chances of sur- vival plummet to 50 per cent.” If introduced, the brush could be used by dentists while treat- ing patients in the dental chair during a regular appointment. The minimally invasive tech- nique would deliver results in 15 minutes instead of several days, as lab-based diagnostics do now, and offer an alternative to often invasive, painful biopsies. A larger trial involving 500 patients has been planned, while researchers hope the eventual deployment of nano-bio-chips willdramatically cut the cost of medical diagnostics and contrib- ute significantly to the task of bringing quality health care to the world. In the United Kingdom, ap- proximately 5,000 people are di- agnosed with mouth cancer each year, claiming the lives of almost 2,000, making it the UK’s fastest growing cancer. Mouth cancer has previously been found to be more com- mon in men than women and people over the age of 40, though an increasing number of women and young people are developing the condition. The new nano-bio-chip was developed by Prof John McDevitt and his team at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The study appeared online in the journal Cancer Prevention Research. DT GDPUK launches dental exhibition website New diagnostic tool to help early detection of oral cancer visit the website to vote on www.dentalshowreviews.co.uk Credit Jeff Fitlow/Rice University