Washington, United States (Web Desk): A team of scientists have developed a new and improved microscope that could help surgeons remove breast tumors completely, reducing the number of women who must undergo repeat surgeries to remove cancer cells that were missed the first time.
According to researchers’ report, the microscope, developed by scientists and engineers at the University of Washington, can effectively scans tumors and examines cells in three dimensions (3-D) in less than 30 minutes.
The surgeons attempt to remove all the cancer cells while removing a breast tumor, known as a lumpectomy, but spare as much healthy tissue as possible.
Earlier, it took several days for lab to reveal the post-surgery results that if the lumpectomy was successful or not, additional surgery is needed to remove cancerous cells that were missed.
The researchers also noted that up to 40 percent of women with breast cancer must undergo repeat procedures.
The Nature Biomedical Engineering journal described the new light-sheet microscope can offer other advantages over existing processes and microscope technologies. It conserves valuable tissue for genetic testing and diagnosis, quickly and accurately images the irregular surfaces of large clinical specimens, and allows pathologists to zoom in and “see” biopsy samples in 3-D.
