Imagine that, on-the-spot access to detailed molecular information on the tumor the surgeon is about to resect.
New imaging techniques developed by Heeren are able to capture the endangered tumor tissue as well as the surroundings malignant tissue at a very early stage and more precisely than ever before.
MSI techniques are currently already applied on small scale and in combination with the so-called ‘IKnife’, a fascinating electrosurgical knife that provides molecular information of different layers of tissue by analyzing the released smoke resulting from cutting through the tissue.
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Heeren doesn’t only focus on the discovery aspects of his research; he also aims at quickly implementing these new techniques into clinical practice. He expects that these MSI techniques will be in place within operating rooms in the next 3 years.
Pioneer professional Dr Ron Heeren, University professor at Maastricht University and key player in the Top Research Institute M4I (Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute) is at the forefront of technological breakthroughs in oncology, neurology and cardiovascular medicine.
Heeren’s team is developing biomedical applications of Mass Spectroscopy Imaging (MSI), or in other words techniques to photograph molecules.
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