A new type of laser microscope may dramatically improve the accuracy of brain tumor surgery, according to a study reported this week in Science Translational Medicine. The new tool helps surgeons see clearly, while operating, where tumor tissue ends and healthy tissue begins.
Surgeons face many challenges when removing brain tumors, including how to remove all of the tumor without leaving behind any cells that could start a new one, as well as not damaging healthy tissue so as to minimize the risk of causing disability in the patient.
Researchers have tested the new tool, which is based on a technology called SRS microscopy, in live mice and in brain tissue removed from a human patient with glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most deadly brain tumors.
They found they could distinguish healthy tissue from tumor tissue in both cases: the new laser-based tool allowed them to see even the tiniest areas of tumor cells in brain tissue.
The team, from University of Michigan (UM) Medical School and Harvard University, says the next step is to fine-tune the approach so they can go ahead with a small human trial.
Need for better tools to visualize tumors
Co-lead author Dr. Daniel Orringer, a lecturer in the UM Department of Neurosurgery, says:
"Though brain tumor surgery has advanced in many ways, survival for many patients is still poor, in part because surgeons can't be sure that they've removed all tumor tissue before the operation is over."
"We need better tools for visualizing tumor[s] during surgery, and SRS microscopy is highly promising. With SRS we can see something that's invisible through conventional surgical microscopy."
SRS is short for stimulated Raman scattering, a method that shines a light onto a target area and identifies the materials present by analyzing the colors that are reflected back.
No comments:
Post a Comment