Lightweight Tools Help Surgeons More Easily Identify Tumors

Researchers have developed a new technique that could help surgeons better identify tumors in the body through a cheaper and more efficient process. The study, published in the journal Optic Letters, presents the opportunity for surgeons and other medical professionals to focus more on the patient and less on their handwork. 

The new technology works by combining two systems that include near-infrared fluorescent imaging to detect marked cancer cells and visible light reflectance imaging to see the contours of the tissue itself via one small, lightweight package that's approximately just the size of a quarter.

"Dual modality is the path forward because it has significant advantages over single modality," said author Rongguang Liang, associate professor of optical sciences at the University of Arizona, in a news release.  "By combining different modalities together, you get a much better picture of the tissue, which could help surgeons make sure they remove every last bit of the tumor and as small amount of healthy tissue as possible," added Optics Letters topical editor Brian Applegate of Texas A&M University, who was not involved in the research.

Presently doctors inject fluorescent dyes into a patient to help them pinpoint cancer cells. 

"The other solution is to put two different imaging systems together side by side," Liang added. "But that makes the device bulky, heavy and not easy to use."