WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a compact camera that captures ultraviolet, near-infrared and visible images using a single chip. Inspired by the multiwavelength vision capability of the mantis shrimp, the camera could help surgeons identify lymph nodes connected to a tumor and assess whether cancer has spread to them, making cancer surgery safer and less invasive.
Lymph nodes act as filters that capture viruses, bacteria and abnormal cells such as cancer cells. When removing breast cancer, surgeons must decide which lymph nodes to biopsy, remove or preserve. Removing the right ones helps make sure all the cancer is eliminated, while preserving unaffected nodes can reduce complications like lymphedema.
"Existing tools can show where lymph is draining but can't reliably indicate whether a particular lymph node is involved with cancer while the operation is underway," said the research team leader Viktor Gruev from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . "This can lead to over-treatment, under-treatment or the need for a second procedure later."
In Optica , Optica Publishing Group 's journal for high-impact research, the researchers describe their new single-chip imager, which provides real-time information on the location of the lymph node using near-infrared imaging while also using UV imaging to determine whether it appears suspicious for cancer. They also report promising early results in tests with breast cancer tissue.
"If future testing is successful, this system could help patients receive more precise surgery," said Gruev. "Beyond breast cancer, the approach could be useful in other cancers where lymph node status matters or anywhere that rapid, label-free tissue assessment could help during surgery or pathology assessment."
Shrimp vision helps with alignment
Although existing near-infrared imaging methods can be used to find lymph nodes, they don't reveal whether the nodes are metastatic. Likewise, some label-free optical methods can provide the biochemical contrast needed to detect cancer, but they are typically not integrated with other imaging modalities. To provide both the location and likely cancer status of a lymph node requires acquiring images using different wavelengths of light while keeping those images carefully aligned.
To accomplish this without bulky lenses or multiple imaging sensors, the researchers looked at how the mantis shrimp eye separates different wavelengths of light in a very compact space. Unlike humans, who can only see visible light, these crustaceans can see ultraviolet, visible and some near-infrared light because their eyes contain stacked rows of photoreceptors, each tuned to different parts of the spectrum.
"We borrowed that idea to allow our camera to collect several kinds of optical information from exactly the same place at the same time," said Gruev. "This is very helpful when you want images to line up perfectly during surgery."
The new camera integrates tiny pixel-level filters and stacked light-sensing layers so that ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared signals can be detected separately on one chip. The researchers also used a mirror-based lens to keep the wide range of wavelengths in focus together and developed image-reconstruction software to turn the different signals into clear, well-aligned images.
This design makes it possible to use infrared wavelengths to detect indocyanine green (ICG), a standard dye that can be used to find lymph nodes. Once the node is found, the camera can be used to acquire a brief UV-light measurement that detects the tissue's inherent fluorescence, which can be used to determine whether the lymph node is cancerous without requiring a cancer-targeted label. The visible light provides a standard camera view that gives surgeons the anatomical context needed to understand what they're viewing.
Testing the camera's ability to catch cancer
The researchers tested the system in several stages. First, in controlled lab tests, they showed that the camera could capture ultraviolet, color and near-infrared information together and measured its sensitivity and accuracy.
Next, they tested the camera on cancer cell samples and then on freshly removed breast cancer specimens covering 94 lymph nodes from 33 patients. The samples were compared with standard pathology findings from pathologists who did not see the ultraviolet imaging results. The ultraviolet readout achieved 97% sensitivity and 89% specificity, while the near-infrared signal reliably located the lymph nodes.
The researchers note that although these results are very encouraging, they see the camera as a tool to support surgical decision-making and pathology, not to replace expert clinical judgment.
Next, the researchers plan to move from demonstrating the camera on freshly removed tissue toward a practical workflow for the operating room. To do this, they need to test the system in larger and more diverse patient groups, improve the ultraviolet sensitivity and speed, and develop real-time processing tools that work well during surgery. They also plan to study other conditions that can look similar to cancer, such as inflammation or fibrosis, and continue developing the hardware so it can be used safely and conveniently in a sterile clinical setting.
Paper: Y. Jin, Z. Zhu, B. Hajek, Z. Liang, B. Lew, C. Chen, H. Chang, D. Kuyel, K. Kanakaraju, T. Cakulev, S. Stojanovski, A. Jankulovska, M. Dudanov, I. Djikovski, R. Colanceski, I. Ferati, B. Kondov, M. Bogdanovska Todorovska, N. Toleska Dimitrovska, I. Vela, D. Despotovski, N. Jakupi, W.-T. Hwang, K. McGovern, C. Conrad, T. Cronin, D. Forsyth, G. Kondov, S. Singhal, S. Nie, V. Gruev, "Bioinspired Ultraviolet–to–Near-Infrared Imager for Label-Free Intraoperative Assessment of Lymph Node Metastasis" 13 (2026).
DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.582293 .
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