Just as electronic devices seem to be getting smaller and smaller, a recent news account details how MIT researchers developed a tiny implantable device to help decide which cancer drugs work best.

The device, which is about the size of a grain of rice, can carry numerous cancer drugs. It is implanted into a tumor through a biopsy needle, and then removed a day later, along with a small amount of tumor tissue. The researchers can then tell which of the drugs were most effective in treating the cancer cells of that particular tumor.

The method, which is still being perfected, is much more efficient in determining the impact of specific drugs on the mutation of cancer cells. The present method involves the removal of tumor cells and then growing them in a lab and treating with various drugs. Tests on mice have shown that the new device accurately predicts responses to the drugs contained in the device. The hope is that, eventually, the device can be made readable while still in the patient, allowing even faster results. Clinical trials of the new device, in breast cancer patients, are expected to start next year.