Laser selects cancer cells

17 Jun 2002

A laser-based system developed by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), can pluck out suspicious cells from tissue samples in seconds potentially pinpointing cancers as they are forming. A biopsy is covered with a thermoplastic polymer film and placed under a microscope. The scientist activates an attached laser to illuminate the cells of interest. When the beam of light passes through the film to focus on the cells, it heats the plastic film and makes it adhesive; the cells stick to the film and can be removed for analysis.
Courtesy of Laser Focus World