Philips is currently researching into a less invasive procedure for treating patients with cancer and other conditions, using drug-loaded microbubbles.

These bubbles are about the same size as red blood cells, and can be injected into a patient’s bloodstream and then tracked via ultrasound imaging.

Drugs would only be released once they reached the required place – a tumour growth, for example. Not only might this increase the effectiveness of the drug, but cut down on unpleasant side-effects…