Cancer Cells Captured in 3D
Biomedical engineers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering have captured three-dimensional images revealing microscopic changes to the inner workings of cells that occur at the earliest stages of cancer, suggesting a possible new method of disease detection.Their findings in animals also suggest that so-called multi-photon fluorescence microscopy—a technique that had generally been limited to the basic science laboratory—might also find use in the clinic.
“We were able to capture physiological information about tissue in a living and breathing animal in three dimensions,” said Nirmala Ramanujam, an associate professor of biomedical engineering. “We peered into individual cells in a very non-invasive way to see how things change as early cancer progresses.” The ability to examine live tissue is critical because tissue removal erases metabolic features that are hallmarks of cancer, added Melissa Skala, a former doctoral student in Ramanujam’s laboratory.
