Mantis Shrimp-Inspired Camera Detects Cancerous Lymph Nodes During Surgery

Researchers have developed a compact camera inspired by the vision of mantis shrimp that can detect cancerous lymph nodes during surgery with high sensitivity, potentially improving the precision of cancer procedures.

The device, created by a team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, captures ultraviolet, near-infrared, and visible light on a single chip, mimicking the multi-spectral vision of mantis shrimp. In tests with breast cancer patients, the camera demonstrated 97% sensitivity in identifying cancerous lymph nodes, according to findings published in the journal Optica.