Pathology slides may need to make way for cellular CT scans
Scientists at Arizona State University have demonstrated the clinical possibilities of live-cell computed tomography (LCCT), successfully completing a proof-of-concept project aimed at detailing the nuclei and mitochondria in cancer and immune-system cells—live and in 3D.
Citing LCCT’s capability to perform imaging of live, suspended cells and its relative ease of implementation, Deirdre Meldrum, PhD, project leader and co-inventor of the new technology, tells the university’s news division the team expects its LCCT technique to “become a powerful new tool for the biomedical research community.”
They also hope their LCCT system will soon advance from the research lab to the patient clinic.
“The conventional 2D imaging of cells on glass slides may become obsolete,” Meldrum adds, “as 3D imaging of cells in suspension supersedes the 200-year old approach of 2D conventional microscopy.”
Click here for the team’s peer-reviewed research report, published online Dec. 6 in Science Advances, and here for the ASU news article.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.