Jan. 6, 2004 — Researchers have developed a new way to perform a type of lymph node surgery important in determining whether cancer is spreading to other parts of a patient’s body, according to a news release issued by Quantum Dot Corp.

The method uses quantum dots — nanoscale bits of semiconductor material — to illuminate lymph nodes during cancer surgery. The research was a collaboration between researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It will be published in the January issue of Nature Biotechnology.