New, More Accurate Tool Helps Surgeons Find Liver Tumors

Surgeons can swab a patient’s exposed liver lightly on the surface with a special stylus, capturing the shape of the organ during surgery, and a computer can match that image with the CT scan on a screen. This GPS-like ability is far better than guessing where the tumor and vessels are by feeling for them, but even this road map can be off by centimeters and leaves surgeons guessing.