Tumor margins determined by new ‘MasSpec Pen’
A new device, termed the MasSpec pen, is currently being development to more effectively identify tumor margins. It has recently reported its first results from use during human surgeries. Researchers hope that the new device will eventually replace histopathology as the de facto tool for determining tumor boundaries during surgery.
Researchers from the University of Texas (TX, USA) have developed a new device, the MasSpec Pen, which could potentially resolve the issues surgeons face when attempting to comprehensively remove tumors during surgery. The findings were recently presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2019 National Meeting and Exposition (25–29 August 2019, San Diego, CA, USA).
The MasSpec pen is a handheld device that can identify cancerous tissue in under 10 seconds by simply touching it against the area and triggering detection with a foot pedal. The information collected from the MasSpec pen can then be used by Surgeons to identify tumor margins and avoid removing healthy tissue.
“It’s been shown with extensive clinical data that highly effective surgeries are those that remove the most cancer, but also preserve the most normal tissue,” explained Livia Eberlin, University of Texas. “We created the MasSpec Pen because we thought it would be incredible if there was a technology that could actually provide molecular information right in the operating room in living tissues, within a time frame that could expedite surgical decisions.”
The MasSpec Pen is a handheld, biocompatible device, which is connected to a high-performance mass spectrometer. The pen first deposits a small droplet of water on the tissue surface, before transferring the droplet to the mass spectrometer for analysis. The MasSpec Pen identifies molecules from the tissue, which then helps to provide a predictive diagnosis using highly refined machine learning algorithms. Surgeons can then use this information to determine the boundaries of a tumor and maximise the likelihood of complete removal.
Thus far, the MasSpec Pen has been tested in over 800 human tissues ex-vivo and has demonstrated promising results in identifying normal and cancerous brain, breast, thyroid, lung, pancreatic and ovarian tumors.
“We are continuing research and development of this technology in my lab by continuing to improve our technology and validating its performance across different cancer types,” concluded Eberlin, who presented the findings. “We are also exploring new applications in surgery including minimally invasive surgical procedures, as well as outside the operating room in forensics and agricultural applications.”