Imaging being told "here's the cup, please spit"
 

Spit in a cup to replace needle pricks

Published: Wednesday, 26-Mar-2008
Read entire article http://www.news-medical.net/?id=36692

One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes.

A major step in that direction is the cataloguing of the "complete" salivary proteome, a set of proteins in human ductal saliva, identified by a consortium of three research teams, according to an article published today in the Journal of Proteome Research. Replacing blood draws with saliva tests promises to make disease diagnosis, as well as the tracking of treatment efficacy, less invasive and costly.