Press room

News releases

2017 Québec Science Discovery of the Year Award goes to the cancer-detection probe developed by Kevin Petrecca and Frédéric Leblond! - Photos

Back to the news release
Left to right: Dr. Kevin Petrecca, Chief of Neurosurgery, brain cancer researcher and holder of the William Feindel Chair in Neuro-Oncology at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (the Neuro); Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM); Marie Lambert-Chan, editor in chief of Québec Science magazine. (Photo: CHUM)
Left to right: Dr. Fabrice Brunet, Chief Executive Officer at Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM); François Bertrand, Chief Research, Innovation and International Officer at Polytechnique Montréal; Dr. Kevin Petrecca, Chief of Neurosurgery, brain cancer researcher and holder of the William Feindel Chair in Neuro-Oncology at the Neuro; Damien Chalaud, Communications Officer at the Neuro; Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fell
Dr. Kevin Petrecca, Chief of Neurosurgery, brain cancer researcher and holder of the William Feindel Chair in Neuro-Oncology at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (the Neuro) (first from right), Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) (second from right) and collaborators of the discovery that was awarded the 2017 Québec Science Discovery of the Year Award. (Photo:
Dr. Kevin Petrecca, Chief of Neurosurgery, brain cancer researcher and holder of the William Feindel Chair in Neuro-Oncology at the Neuro, and Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). (Photo: Caroline Perron)
Dr. Kevin Petrecca, Chief of Neurosurgery, brain cancer researcher and holder of the William Feindel Chair in Neuro-Oncology at the Neuro, and Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). (Photo: Caroline Perron)
Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). (Photo: Caroline Perron)
Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). (Photo: Caroline Perron)
Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). (Photo: Caroline Perron)
Frédéric Leblond, Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal and research fellow at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). (Photo: Caroline Perron)
Schematic depiction of the probe being used to interrogate brain tissue during surgery. The image shows a photograph of the probe held by a surgeon, Raman spectral associated with normal brain and cancer, as well as a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of a brain cancer patient with the red area representing the tumor.
Photograph of the probe during surgery.
Photograph of the probe during surgery.
Cancer is often difficult to distinguish in the brain during surgery, causing residual cancer cells to be left behind. These residual cells are the primary cause of recurrence in brain cancer, and result in a poor prognosis for patients. Pr. Leblond and Petrecca have developed a technique for using particular light scattering events (the Raman effect) to detect cancer cells during surgery with a hand-held probe, by measuring molecular interactions with light. The image depicts a 3D rendering of the brain, w
Cancer is often difficult to distinguish in the brain during surgery, causing residual cancer cells to be left behind. These residual cells are the primary cause of recurrence in brain cancer, and result in a poor prognosis for patients. Pr. Leblond and Petrecca have developed a technique for using particular light scattering events (the Raman effect) to detect cancer cells during surgery with a hand-held probe, by measuring molecular interactions with light. The image depicts a 3D rendering of the brain, w

Media Relations

Communications advisors from the media relations team plan, organize and oversee the relations between Polytechnique Montréal and the media.

Meet our team 

Archives