Ideas worth spreading

Color-coded surgery

1,250,570 views | Quyen Nguyen • TEDMED 2011

Surgeons are taught from textbooks which conveniently color-code the types of tissues, but that's not what it looks like in real life -- until now. At TEDMED Quyen Nguyen demonstrates how a molecular marker can make tumors light up in neon green, showing surgeons exactly where to cut.

Surgeons are taught from textbooks which conveniently color-code the types of tissues, but that's not what it looks like in real life -- until now. At TEDMED Quyen Nguyen demonstrates how a molecular marker can make tumors light up in neon green, showing surgeons exactly where to cut.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

See speaker profile

Quyen Nguyen uses molecular probes that make tumors -- and just the tumors -- glow, as an extraordinary aid to surgeons.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.