Device offers promise of no brain tumor left behind

New technique might allow surgeons to identify edges of cancers

tumor tissue

THE CUTTING EDGE  A new technique generates colored images that differentiate tumor tissue (blue) in a mouse brain from surrounding healthy tissue (green). The technique may eventually improve brain surgery.

Ji et al/Science Translational Medicine

A tiny probe equipped with a laser might reveal what the human eye doesn’t always see: the difference between a tumor and healthy tissue.