# Imaging mass cytometry

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/imaging-mass-cytometry/  
OnCo record `imaging-mass-cytometry` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A way to stain a tumour slice for dozens of proteins at once using metal-tagged antibodies read by a mass spectrometer, giving a detailed map of which cells are where.

## Summary

Imaging mass cytometry (Standard BioTools Hyperion) and multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI) label antibodies with rare-earth metal isotopes instead of fluorophores, then ablate the tissue pixel by pixel and read the metals by mass spectrometry. Forty or more markers can be measured on one section without spectral overlap, letting researchers phenotype immune and tumour cells in place and quantify their spatial relationships.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: emerging
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Principle: Metal-isotope-tagged antibodies bind the section; a laser or ion beam vaporises each pixel and time-of-flight mass spectrometry counts the isotopes, building one image per marker.
- Strengths: Forty-plus markers on one section; No autofluorescence or spectral overlap; Quantitative per-cell protein levels
- Limitations: Slow acquisition and small fields of view; Expensive instruments; Research use only

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_mass_cytometry
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_mass_cytometry

## Connected records

- fronts: [Diagnostics & Biomarkers](https://onco.cc/fronts/diagnostics/)
- technologies: [Single-cell & spatial profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/single-cell-spatial/)

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