PHIL project wins ATTRACT award: 100’000 € to develop a System for Cancer Diagnosis

Leitat, jointly with the Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE), were awarded a grant of 100’000 € by the ATTRACT Project, to develop a system that will enable safe, personalized, and robust cancer diagnosis and treatment. The system, called PHIL and standing for Photonic System for Liquid Biopsy, will have the capacity to isolate and analyze plasma tumor DNA (ptDNA) in blood sample in a non-invasive manner.

The project was launched on the 21st of May at the CERN and presented by Ruta Grinyte to the ATTRACT consortium, funding this initiative.

During the 12 upcoming months, Leitat and IFAE will design and build the system using mainly commercial solutions, commission the setup and determine the lowest target DNA levels that can be detected. The cooperation between IFAE, with a long term expertise in detector development and integration, and Leitat, with a robust knowledge in medical research, creates a unique combination of the talents necessary for the success of this project. Such a system would have a wide range of applications in the field of health care, being one of the challenges of the European society for the next decade.

More information about PHIL.