This process has not be tested on humans yet, but coming soon.  The infra red will show the outline of the tumor from a dye injected prior to surgery.

The cancer cells literally glow and radiate on a monitor.  BD 

The problem with cancer surgery, or so we hear, is that it's difficult for surgeons to know if they've removed all of a tumor, imageespecially in late-stage cancers when the edges get indistinct. But a new imaging technology developed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Center for Imaging Technology and Molecular Diagnostics in Boston is giving cutters visual cues on just where to aim their scalpels.

The portable FLARE (Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration) system uses near-infrared light to highlight cancer cells, giving surgeons a "paint-by-numbers" guide that shows the full extent of a tumor. Before surgery, patients are injected with special dyes called NIR fluorophores that target certain cell or tumor types and glow when they are exposed to near-infrared light. (Don't worry, your prostate won't glow orange -- this process is invisible to the naked eye). A detector relays the information to a video monitor, where the glowing cancer cells are overlaid on real-time images of the patient's body. A footswitch allows the surgeon to magnify or change viewing angles during the operation. More advanced versions may allow the surgeon to simultaneously view other systems, like nerves and blood vessels.

Surgery By Numbers | Popular Science

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