Photo: National Cancer Institute | Unsplash
Scientists at University College London have developed a novel cancer therapy that uses an MRI scanner to guide a magnetic seed through the brain to heat and destroy tumors, creating a new kind of imaging therapy using a device that is readily available around the world. A magnetic heating seed is steered to the tumor by the MRI scanner and then heated, precisely destroying the cancer cells while causing limited damage to surrounding healthy tissues, without the need for open surgery. So far, it has been used only in mice. “In the longer term”, says lead author Professor Mark Lythgoe, “we will change the shape of the seed to act as a tiny cutting scalpel that could be guided through tissue, which would allow surgeons to perform remotely controlled operations, revolutionizing non-invasive surgery.”
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