AN ALLOA health tech firm has contributed to research which could help provide less painful and more effective treatment for cervical cancer.

Emblation let a team of scientists from the University of Glasgow use their Swift device to treat lab-grown cancer cells with precise doses of microwaves, delivering highly effective results.

This research, published in medical journal The Lancet, demonstrated how cancerous cells can be destroyed with Emblation’s technology.

Dr Matt Kidd, director of research and development at Emblation, said: “It’s hugely important that these results have been proven repeatedly under laboratory conditions and peer reviewed.

“This is a first and absolutely vital step toward eventually getting tests out of the lab and into medical situations involving real patients.

“While we were delighted to provide a Swift device for the research and helped train the scientists in how to use it, we had no involvement in the experiments.

“So, we have been genuinely thrilled to read about the highly-promising results in The Lancet.”

The team grew 3D cancer tissues in the lab before targeting them with precise bursts of microwave energy.

It was found that the microwave energy resulted in a reduction of growth in diseased cells and an increase in programmed cell death in tumours.

The Swift device, developed by Emblation, has proven effective in treating conditions such as verrucae and Actinic Keratosis, pre-cancerous skin lesions caused by over exposure to the sun.

Emblation was founded by Gary Beale and Eamon McErlean and received serious growth in 2021 to provide Swift devices worldwide.