Glioma margins gain a third dimension before surgery ends.

ULTRA enables three-dimensional virtual histology of glioma specimens within 30 minutes, revealing tumor infiltration depth before surgery concludes.

• Why it matters: Accurate delineation of glioma margins is critical for effective surgery, but current methods lack rapid, detailed 3D visualization of tumor infiltration in intact tissue.
• What they did: Liu et al. developed ULTRA, combining rapid tissue clearing, stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, and AI to produce cell-resolved 3D images of glioma tissue in approximately half an hour.
• The result: This approach allows surgeons to identify tumor margins more precisely during operations, potentially improving surgical outcomes by exposing infiltration patterns in real time.