Tech article 3/14

High-tech glasses help surgeons see cancer cells

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, have developed a way of visualizing cancer cells using high-tech glasses designed to make it easier for surgeons to distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissue.

Cancer cells are notoriously difficult to see, even when highly magnified, and the hope is the special glasses will help surgeons remove all of the tumortissue and avoid leaving behind any stray cancer cells.

Viewed through the glasses, cancer cells appear to glow blue under a special light, thanks to a fluorescent marker injected in the tumor that attaches only to cancerous and not to healthy cells. Also, the lighter the shade of blue, the more concentrated the cancer cells are.