Rapid X-ray Diffraction Imaging for Improved Tissue Analysis in Pathology Applications

Project Description: X-ray diffraction is a technique used for determining the atomic and molecular structure of many inorganic and biological samples. Among the biological samples whose shape and form can be determined by X-ray diffraction are proteins, drugs, and nucleic acids such as DNA.With this award, researchers will develop a new type of X-ray diffraction scanner to be used in pathology laboratories to distinguish which samples contain tumors and/or tumor cells from samples that are cancer free. Being able to determine which biopsy samples have tumors or tumor cells within them will allow pathologists and doctors to analyze biopsy samples more efficiently and more effectively.