Rapid and accurate biopsy results obtained with laser-based technique.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a laser-based technique for analyzing tissue samples.  Traditionally, pathologists use visual changes to decide whether a sample of tissue contains cancer and to identify the boundaries between normal and cancerous tissue.  The new technique uses differences in the molecular content of normal and cancer cells to color-code the normal and cancer cells.  The results in a rat model of breast cancer were extremely accurate and were obtained in about 5 minutes, much faster than traditional pathology techniques.