Tulane researchers aim to reduce cancer treatment time with new tech
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Two years after a presidential visit put a New Orleans cancer research project in the national spotlight, Tulane University researchers are testing a new imaging technology on tissue from cancer surgeries — with the hope that one day it could tell surgeons, within minutes, whether they removed all of a patient’s cancer.
By pairing high-res 3D imaging with AI, it builds a detailed map of the tumor in minutes, showing doctors exactly where any leftover cancer might be — potentially saving patients from a painful second surgery.
In August 2024, then-President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Tulane University to announce an award of up to $22.9 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H.
The funding is supporting a project called MAGIC-SCAN (Machine-learning Assisted Gigantic Image Cancer margin scanner), led by Tulane biomedical engineering professor Dr. Quincy Brown and software engineer and data scientist Dr. Brian Summa.