The MasSpec Pen can reduce time on the operating table and the risk of additional surgeries. The current method for spotting cancerous tissue during surgery requires that a sample be removed from the patient and examined under a microscope. That process takes more than 30 minutes, during which the patient faces an increased risk of infection. By contrast, MasSpec Pen requires only ten seconds. When touching a suspected cancer, the Pen releases a tiny droplet of water. Chemicals inside the living cells move into the droplet, which is then sucked back up the pen for analysis. The pen is then plugged into a mass spectrometer, which produces a chemical fingerprint that tells doctors whether they are looking at healthy tissue or cancer.