New handheld device ‘can identify cancerous tissue in seconds’

An intuitive new handheld device has been developed to help surgeons identify cancerous tissue faster than has ever previously been possible.

Developed by scientists and engineers at the University of Texas at Austin, the MasSpec Pen is designed to provide rapid and precise diagnostic information about which tissue to excise or preserve, improving treatment outcomes and reducing the chances of cancer recurrence.

The device is able to distinguish between metabolites and other biomarkers in cancer and normal cells, simply by holding the pen against the patient's tissue, triggering the automated analysis using a foot pedal, and waiting a few seconds for a result.

In tests on tissues removed from 253 human cancer patients, the MasSpec Pen was shown to take about ten seconds to provide a diagnosis, offering an accuracy rate that exceeded 96 percent.

James Suliburk, head of endocrine surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and a collaborator on the project, said: "Any time we can offer the patient a more precise surgery, a quicker surgery or a safer surgery, that's something we want to do. This technology does all three."

The team expects to start testing this new product during cancer surgeries in 2018.

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