Infrared imaging helps surgeons see diseased tissue

NOVEMBER 3, 2008--Cancer surgeons today operate "blind" with no clear way of determining in real time whether they have removed all of the diseased tissue, which is the key to successful surgery. Researchers in Massachusetts now report development and early clinical trials of an imaging system that highlights cancerous tissue in the body so that surgeons can more easily see and remove diseased tissue with less damage to normal tissue near the tumor. "This technique is the first time that cancer surgeons can see structures that are otherwise invisible, providing image-guided surgery," says John Frangioni of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, MA. "If we can see cancer, we have a chance of curing it." The system is called Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration (FLARE). Under development for the past decade, the portable system consists of a near-infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer.

For more information, go to: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/acs-bc072308.php