Credit: Terence T. W. Wong
A new imaging technique based on light and sound produces images doctors can use to distinguish cancerous breast tissue (below the dotted blue line) from normal tissue more quickly than is currently possible. Pathologists routinely inspect surgical specimens to make sure all cancerous tissue has been removed. The new technique (right) produces images as detailed and accurate as traditional methods (left), but in far less time. The researchers are working to make the technique fast enough to be used during a surgery, so patients don't have to return for a second surgery.