RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/984,771, filed Dec. 4, 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,445, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/875,645 filed Jul. 31, 1997, now abandoned, as the US designation of International patent application No. PCT/GB96/00222 filed Feb. 2, 1996.
A method of optically detecting a tumor during surgery. The method includes imaging at least one test point defined on the tumor using a first optical imaging system to provide a first tumor image. The method further includes excising a first predetermined layer of the tumor for forming an in-vivo defect area. A predetermined contrast enhancing solution is disposed on the in-vivo defect area, which is adapted to interact with at least one cell anomaly, such as basal cell carcinoma, located on the in-vivo defect area for optically enhancing the cell anomaly. Thereafter the defect area can be optically imaged to provide a clear and bright representation of the cell anomaly to aid a surgeon while surgically removing the cell anomaly.
