A groundbreaking new device has been developed that can identify cancerous cells in just 10 seconds.
The pen-like device was developed at the University of Texas, Austin, spurred on from the difficulty surgeons have removing cancerous cells while not removing any healthy tissue.
Currently, small tissue samples are taken from the body and then analysed in labs, but the new “MasPec Pen” aims to change this by distinguishing between cancerous cells and healthy tissue in approximately 10 seconds.
The MacSpace Pen works by extracting a small amount of water from a person’s tissue before sending the blend of water and tissue through a tube for testing.
Following testing on more than 250 human tissue samples, and with a 96 per cent accuracy rate, the tool is expected to be tested during surgeries in 2018.