Imaging system has its sight set on cancerous tumours

According to a statement, a study carried out on nine patients with ovarian cancer has shown that the system can be used to localise cancer cells during surgery.

Before the operation, the patients were injected with folic acid chemically coupled to a green fluorescent dye. Most ovarian tumours have a protein molecule on their surface that bonds with folic acid and transports it inside the cell.

During abdominal surgery, the surgeon can then shine a laser light onto the patient’s ovaries, causing the green-labelled folic acid inside the cancer cells to emit light while healthy tissue remains dark. The fluorescent cancer cells, however, cannot be detected by eye.

Three cameras, mounted on a pivoting support arm over the operating table, detect optical and fluorescent signals at multiple spectral bands and then correct for light variations due to illumination and tissue discolourations in order to provide truly accurate fluorescence images that can be simultaneously displayed with corresponding colour images on monitors in the operating room.