Light can help oncologists reduce re-surgery rates

Is there cancer on the surface of the tissue that has been surgically removed from the patient? Determining this can be difficult for surgeons during surgery, and therefore one in ten of all cancer surgeries have to be repeated because they did not succeed in removing all the cancer. In some types of cancer, up to three out of ten surgeries have to be repeated.

- Not because the surgeons are incompetent, but because it is incredibly difficult to tell the difference between normal tissue and cancerous tissue, explains Magnus Jensen, postdoc in the Spin-outs Denmark programme. 

Together with other researchers, he has worked on creating an instrument that works like a CT scanner but can provide much more precise measurements - using light. 

The instrument saves time and money

They are currently further developing the technology to be able to make a scanner that can quickly tell surgeons if there is cancer on the surface of a piece of tissue they have removed from a patient. If there is, there is probably more diseased tissue left in the patient.

- The scanner is meant to be used while the patient is still in surgery. We hope that the instrument can help surgeons to be more confident in their assessment, reduce patient stress and uncertainty, and save our healthcare system money, Magnus Jensen explains.

He points out that some cancer patients wait a month to get an answer as to whether the cancer has been removed. Even longer if they need a new operation. During the waiting period, there is a risk that the disease will spread.  

The technology is a game changer

The instrument is a game changer, as it provides physicians with an accurate analysis of what they are looking at. A CT scanner’s X-rays only reveal dark spots, but this instrument provides physicians with significantly more knowledge. 

-It works like a CT scanner, but we don’t use X-rays. We use light. This is called Raman spectroscopy. The light that is reflected shows which molecules we are looking at. The light beam thus gives a unique fingerprint, and that is why we can determine if disease is present, explains postdoc Magnus Jensen.

From Novo to entrepreneur

He comes from a position at Novo Nordisk, which he landed upon earning his PhD. He accepted the job offer, even though he has always dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur.

However, he couldn't shake off the dream, so one day he called his former supervisor at SDU's Department of Green Technology.  

He then got a place in the Spin-outs Denmark programme, which prepares junior researchers to become entrepreneurs. The course of the programme sets the stage for Magnus Jensen to start a company within approximately 12–18 months to further develop and sell the technology.

-I’ve always liked the idea of creating a business based on something I’ve worked on. At the end of the day, my dream is to get a business up and running and make the instrument usable. To ensure others can benefit from it instead of it becoming a research project with an end date, he explains. 

SDU researchers start businesses

The Spin-outs Denmark programme is open to all researchers who want to start a business based on research in the humanities or the technical, natural and social sciences early in their career.

As part of the programme, Magnus Jensen will receive one year of financial and professional support to launch his own business.

Before him, Kristian Husum Laursen, Ïo Valls-Ratés, Bhushan Patil and Jesper Puggaard de Oliveira Hansen and Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle have been awarded SDU postdoc positions in the programme. All of them are currently developing businesses based on research into drones, digital voice training, indoor solar cells and customisation of production machinery.