Virtual tumour offers a new look at cancer-It will help in developing treatments

• Cambridge scientists have built a virtual reality (VR) 3D model of cancer that allows viewers to ‘fly’ through tumour cells, observing every detail from different angles.
• The advance paves the way for better understanding cancer, and developing new treatments for it.
• The tumour sample, taken from a patient, can be studied in detail and from all angles, with each individual cell mapped.
• Researchers started with a 1 mm cubed piece of breast cancer tissue biopsy, containing around 1,00,000 cells.
• They cut wafer thin slices, and then stained them with markers to show their molecular make-up and DNA characteristics.
• The tumour was then rebuilt using VR, which allows multiple users from anywhere in the world to examine it.
• Although the human tissue sample was about the size of a pinhead, using the VR headsets, it could be magnified to appear several metres across.

The Hindu