Pen-sized microscope to efficiently see cancer cells

A miniature microscope with high enough resolution to detect changes at a cellular level could be used in dental or dermatological clinics to better assess which lesions or moles are normal and which ones need to be biopsied.

"The microscope technologies that have been developed over the last couple of decades are expensive and still pretty large, about the size of a hair dryer or a small dental x-ray machine," said co-author Milind Rajadhyaksha at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City.

The miniature microscope uses an innovative approach called "dual-axis confocal microscopy" to illuminate and more clearly see through opaque tissue.

It can capture details up to a half mm beneath the tissue surface, where some types of cancerous cells originate.

The microscope also employs a technique called line scanning to speed up the image-collection process.

Imaging speed is particularly important for a hand-held device which has to contend with motion jitter from the human using it. If the imaging rate is too slow, the images will be blurry.

The researchers hope that after testing the microscope's performance as a cancer-screening tool, it can be introduced into surgeries or other clinical procedures within the next two to four years.