This painless nanoneedle patch might one day replace certain biopsies

A patch containing tens of millions of nanoneedles can read what’s happening in our cells on the fly, potentially eliminating the need for time-consuming biopsies. The patch might also facilitate disease diagnosis and monitoring.

The 8-by-8-millimeter patch collects molecular information painlessly and without damaging tissue, providing results in a matter of minutes, researchers report June 16 in Nature Nanotechnology. Traditionally, diseases like cancer and autoimmune conditions require biopsies. Extracting these tissue samples can be painful and invasive, and results can take days.