New Handheld Probe Detects Cancer Invaders in the Brain
3D rendering of the brain. The cancer detectable with MRI is in red and yellow. Bright points indicate cancer detected using Raman spectroscopy. Actual cancer cells are depicted in the pop out / Polytechnique Montreal and Montreal Neurological Institute
IFL Science, Febuary 12, 2015
Some cancers appear indistinguishable from healthy tissue, raising the risk of recurrence and metastasis. Now, researchers in Canada have developed a handheld fiber optic probe that they say can detect invasive brain cancer in patients accurately. The device, described in Science Translational Medicine this week, could one day quickly guide neurosurgeons during procedures to remove cancerous tissue from the brain.