The Virtual Biobank will digitise and help speed up the process of accessing vital tissue samples donated by patients, which up until now could only be requested through physical biobanks. “It currently takes many months before researchers are able to obtain tissue samples from a physical biobank and carry out investigations with it. According to Xinhua, the researchers obtained small samples of donor patients’ tumour biopsies stored in a cancer biobank and converted them into digital copies. “Each digital cancer sample in The Virtual Biobank is made up of high-resolution microscopy images in both 2D and 3D, plus important clinical and molecular information that provides the foundation for virtual research into cancer,” said Flynn. Hopefully soon, anyone with a smartphone and Google Cardboard could experience the internal environment of cancer tissue and bring about new insights,” said fellow chief investigator Dr William Palmer.

Source: Indian Express February 12, 2018 07:30 UTC