Fig. 2

Mean spectral intensity for cancer and normal tissues during cutting (cut) and coagulation (coag) electrosurgical modalities. The m/z intensities are positive for both normal and tumour; here positive intensities are reflected opposite each other to illustrate similarities and differences between the groups. The intensity of triglycerides (850–1000 m/z) is greater than the intensity of phospholipids (600–850 m/z) in normal breast tissue (a, b), whilst the membrane phospholipids are more dominant in breast cancer (a, b). Differences are observed between cut mode (a) and coag mode (b). Coag mode, compared to cut mode, gives a higher triglyceride signal but lower phospholipid signal