Microscope could cut waiting lists

A TINY microscope that can be manoeuvred through small spaces inside the body during surgery could speed up breast cancer treatment and help cut NHS waiting lists, according to scientists.

Experts from Imperial College London developed an endo-microscope – less than 1mm in diameter or the width of 25 human hairs – to be inserted into the body to provide views of tissue and organs. The device can to produce images from inside the tissue with “unprecedented speed”, the team said. The hope is that the endo-microscope, being developed at Imperial College London, will help surgeons identify cancerous cells a hundredth of a millimetre in size at a much faster rate than traditional methods.

It will help reduce the need for follow-up operations to remove cancerous cells that previously evaded detection, the team said. The instrument will also help with breast-conserving surgery, where a surgeon removes the cancer while leaving as much normal breast as possible. At present, up to 20% of patients treated through breast-conserving surgery currently need such operations.

James Manning People dressed as cats during MCM Comic Con at the ExCel London in east London