Most people undergoing a tumor excision go in knowing that the entirety of the offending tissue may not be removed successfully. Typically, tumors look just like healthy tissue and it takes quite a bit of time between when a sample is sent to the pathology lab and when the results come in. Therefore, repeat surgeries are often necessary and too frequently cancer is given another chance to spread. A new experimental device, called MasSpec Pen, developed at University of Texas at Austin, promises to speed up this process so that surgeons won’t have to wait for pathologists and tissue could be analyzed right inside the operating room.
The MasSpec works by sucking up molecules from the tissue being sampled via a water drop hanging off its tip. This water droplet is then put through a mass spectrometer that can identify the molecules within. Since some molecules are only present in tumors in high enough quantities, the device essentially points to the existence or absence of cancer.
The MasSpec still has to be tested on humans, which is expected to happen within the next year.
Here’s a video report about MasSpec Pen from Voice of America:
Flashbacks: Non-Destructive Mass Spectrometry Helps Identify Tumor Margins Inside OR…; Surgical Pen Can Identify Cancer in Real-Time….
Project page: MasSpec Pen…
Via: Voice of America…