Mass spectrometry imaging 'to speed cancer diagnosis'

When tests are carried out on a patient’s tissue today, such as to look for cancer, the test has to be interpreted by a histology specialist and can take weeks to obtain a full result.

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) uses technologies that reveal how chemical components are distributed in a tissue sample. Scientists have proposed using MSI to identify tissue types, but until now no method has been devised to apply the technology to any type of tissue.

In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Imperial College London have outlined a method for processing MSI data and building a database of tissue types.

In MSI, a beam moves across the surface of a sample, producing a pixelated image. Each pixel contains data on chemicals present in that part of the sample. By analysing many samples and comparing them to the results of traditional histological analysis, a computer can learn to identify different types of tissue.