A system (10) for margin assessment of an ex-vivo tissue (18), including an imaging scanner (12) controlled by an imaging control unit (14), and an ex-vivo sample holder (16) for holding a sample of an excised tissue (18), the sample holder (16) being sized such that excised lump edges (24) of the excised tissue (18) are forced against a surface of the sample holder (16) such that the edges (24) change shape to have a predetermined geometry, and wherein the imaging scanner (12) is positioned relative to the sample holder (16) such that the imaging scanner (12) acquires images not of all the tissue (18) but rather of the edges (24) that have the predetermined geometry and which are in a sensitive region (40) extending into a peripheral margin of the tissue (18).