Blaze Bioscience

For years, surgeons have been searching for better intraoperative tools to more effectively treat brain cancer. When removing tumors, the ability to precisely identify them is of paramount importance. If too little tissue is removed, cancer cells are left behind to grow and spread. If too much tissue is removed, the patient may experience significant disabilities, including paralysis. Despite advances in intraoperative monitoring and image guidance, postoperative scans sometimes reveal bulky residual tumor that may have been resected safely if surgeons had improved tools to distinguish tumor tissue from normal brain. A team of neurosurgeons, engineers and biologists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, led by Dr. Jim Olson, has created a technology that illuminates cancer cells distinguishing tumors from healthy tissue. Tumor Paint technology will enable surgeons to see tumors "live" during surgery giving them a better chance of removing all of the cancerous cells without injuring surrounding healthy tissue.