A new laser-based method may enable pathologists to do instant biopsies of living tissue, speeding the process. Although the technique cannot yet see deep within tissue, it can provide images at a resolution of a single cell.

The Cornell researchers create detailed biopsy images by scanning live tissue with a pulsed laser that focuses intense light on a tiny spot. Computer software then creates an image based on the precise location of the laser’s focused beam and the intensity of the fluorescence at each point.