System Using Fluorescence Imaging to Show Tumor Depth

Oct, 2022 - By SMI

The new development of fluorescence imaging devices that aid in illuminating a tumour enabling surgical visibility.

In order to illuminate a tumour and determine its depth below the body's surface, medical experts at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have devised a fluorescence imaging technology. By properly excising a suitable margin of healthy tissue, the approach could help surgeons remove tumours precisely and lower the risk of tumour recurrence. The procedure entails giving a fluorescent dye to be excited before doing so with light of two different wavelengths. The emitted excitation fluorescence can be utilised to determine the depth of the tumour in the tissue since light of different wavelengths will penetrate the tissue at various depths.

When removing a tumour, accuracy is crucial. The removal of all cancerous tissue is obviously required, however, doing so can be difficult if there is no simple way to tell which cells are healthy and which are dangerous. A surgeon will typically cut away a portion of good tissue around the tumour to ensure that all cancerous tissue is removed, as cutting too much might delay a patient's recovery and cause unneeded agony and anguish.

The fact is that this novel device can provide information on tumour depth and is portable and inexpensive suggests that it may find wider use than current imaging techniques. The researchers delivered light at different wavelengths to the tissue by using 730-nm and 780-nm LEDs. The excitation fluorescence is picked up by a CMOS camera. The technology has so far been tested on animals with malignancies by the researchers. The imaging process only took five minutes, and the researchers discovered a strong correlation between the anticipated tumour depth and the actual depth. Numerous research teams have contributed to the creation of mathematical connections between ratiometric fluorescence measurements and fluorophore depth.