breakthrough! New technology to achieve three-dimensional imaging of cancer cells in vivo

Medical Network May 21 In order to provide better cancer treatment methods, doctors and scientists need to have a deeper understanding of cancer cells, and researchers usually test individual cells in test tubes and detect new findings in vivo. "Our goal is to observe individual cancer cells in vivo to determine how they function, how to metastasize and how to respond to new therapies," said Professor Jan Laufer, a medical physicist from MLU, who is in the field of photoacoustic imaging. Expert, this is a method that can use ultrasound to produce high-resolution in vivo three-dimensional images.

"The problem is that the tumor cells are transparent, which makes it difficult for optical technology to detect cancer cells in the body," Lufer explained. To solve this problem, his research team developed a new method: they first introduced a special gene to cancer cells. Once inside the cell, the gene can produce phytochrome protein, which is derived from plants and bacteria. Photoreceptors; the researchers then used two different wavelengths of light to illuminate the tissue. These light can be absorbed and converted into ultrasound in the body. These waves can be detected in vitro. Based on these data, the researchers can reconstruct the body. The characteristic of this light-sensitive protein is that their mechanisms can be changed, so their absorption properties depend on the wavelength of the laser. This results in a change in the ultrasound signal produced by the tumor cells. Other organizations do not have this property, and their signals remain unchanged. By calculating the difference between the two signals, the researchers can obtain three-dimensional high-resolution images of the distribution of tumor cells in vivo.

The invention has a wide range of uses in preclinical research and life sciences. In addition to cancer research, this technology can also be used to observe cellular and genetic processes in living organisms.