During surgery

Tumor tissue is now analyzed in five minutes

Rapid analysis in the operating room.(Bild: Alexander Lebedko – stock.adobe.com)

The ageing population is accompanied by an increasing number of cancer cases. This poses an enormous challenge for medical staff, including pathologists. They examine and confirm the presence of tumor tissue. A new device now enables the histopathological assessment of freshly removed tissue in just five minutes. 

Malignant tissue formations must be confirmed by pathologists on the basis of their preparatory, microscopic and molecular biological examinations.

Histological assessment
The "VivaScope 2500 Ex Vivo" is now being used for this purpose at Vienna General Hospital (also Salzburg General Hospital, Klagenfurt Hospital, Graz University Hospital). The device enables the histopathological assessment of freshly removed tissue within just five minutes, for example in dermatology.

Narrowing the incision margin
It is sometimes used there to carry out incision margin checks during skin cancer surgery. The doctor often removes the critical skin area or the edge of the tumor with a very large safety radius. 

This technology is now intended to avoid this. Further areas of application are being researched. Common analog alternatives are physical incisions. With kerosene sections, however, it takes 24 hours before a result is available.

Scanned with lasers
Only 20 to 45 minutes for frozen sections. However, they are less precise. With digital frozen sections, the tissue is stained with a fluorescent dye immediately after removal and placed on a glass plate.

It is then scanned with a laser, which generates digital images. These show the cellular composition. The technology is also suitable for telemedical applications.