Armed with neutron imaging, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Trent Nichols, a doctor of internal medicine who also holds a doctorate in physics, hopes to improve the odds for patients with cancer. The proposed work of a team that includes veterinarians and scientists from diverse disciplines could ultimately lead to less guesswork for surgeons and pathologists. "The prognosis and treatment plan after resection depends to a great extent on knowing whether the tumor is completely contained or extends beyond the block of resected tissue," Nichols said. With the aid of a low-energy neutron imaging system and boronated tissue stains, the picture should become much clearer between normal and malignant cells. Funding for the initial work is being provided through ORNL's seed money program. The team plans to submit a proposal to the National Institutes of Health for follow-on funding.
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