Local researchers develop optical microscope that detects cancerous cells

An endoscopy is a common procedure during a health check-up in Korea, but it can only detect certain conditions -- and cancer isn't one of them.
But now there is new hope, as local researchers have developed a groundbreaking optical technology that can spot abnormalities related to cancer at an early stage of development.
Sohn Jung-in has more.
A patient who has been complaining of discomfort in his stomach is undergoing a gastroscopy, when doctors spot a scar on the stomach wall.
With an endoscopic examination like this, doctors can detect imperfections such as lumps or scratches.
But they cannot spot cancer cells because of the way light scatters, blocking their view.
However, a team of local researchers, whose work was published in the journal Nature Photonics earlier this month, has developed a high-resolution optical microscope that can detect abnormalities related to cancer at the cellular level.
The device assigns different values to light waves as they are emitted from various angles and collects the information.


"We've developed a microscope that can obtain information from light as it goes in and out of the tissue."

The optical device enables doctors to see one-millimeter into the skin with a resolution 10 times clearer than existing microscopes, helping them to detect cancer at an earlier stage of development than what is currently possible.


"This new technology will overcome the shortcomings of the existing endoscopy. It could give us a way to detect cancer earlier by observing changes in human deep-tissue at the nucleus level."

The researchers expect their new optical microscope to be put into practice within 5 years after being fully developed for the early detection of cancer.
Sohn Jung-in, Arirang News