Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
Handheld scanner maps tissue chemistry in lab tests
A team at the University of Houston made a handheld tissue scanner that maps chemicals such as proteins and fats without dyes.
In side-by-side lab tests, its images closely matched those from a full-size instrument.
The probe uses two lasers to detect how molecules absorb light, then builds a detailed map of the sample.
The smaller design could matter because large scanners cannot be taken to patients, while the probe is about 8 inches long.
The team hopes it could one day help surgeons check removed tissue for cancer while a patient is still in the operating room.
So far, however, tests have covered only thin preserved tissue slices and plastics, not use during surgery.
Researchers at the University of Houston developed an 8-inch handheld probe that maps tissue chemistry without stains.
In lab tests, its images closely matched those from a full-size instrument.
The device has so far been tested on thin slices of preserved tissue and plastics.
The team says it could eventually help assess tissue during cancer surgery, but it has not yet been tested in that setting.
The scanner uses mid-infrared and red lasers, with mirrors and a special glass fiber to fit the imaging system into a portable probe.
- Who
- A research team in Rohith Reddy’s lab at the University of Houston.
- What
- The team developed a handheld probe that maps tissue chemistry without stains and tested its images against a full-size instrument.
- When
- The article was published on November 12, 2026; the date of the research and tests is not stated.
- Where
- The work was done at the University of Houston. A pathologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center supplied bone marrow samples.
- Why
- The device could eventually help assess tissue during cancer surgery, including whether cancer cells remain at a surgical margin.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The research team modified the imaging head of a full-size instrument to fit an 8-inch probe.
The probe’s images closely matched those from a full-size instrument.
Earth.com published an article about the handheld scanner.
- Probe length
- 8 inches (20 centimeters)
- Base unit area
- Less than 1.5 square feet (0.14 square meters)
- Full-size instrument area
- More than 9 square feet (0.84 square meters) of optical table
- Research team
- Rohith Reddy’s lab at the University of Houston
- Samples
- Thin slices of preserved tissue and plastics
What people are saying
Ultimately, this technology could make it possible to assess tissue during cancer surgery
After removing a suspected tumor, a surgeon could scan the freshly excised tissue.
Careful optical design and alignment helped to minimize the image distortions that mirrors can cause. We also designed the handheld scanner to connect to the light source through a fiber-optic cable, allowing it to be maneuvered easily around a sample