About the research topic
Surgery is a common treatment option for many cancers. With increasing sensitivity of imaging and screening programs such as lung cancer screening, more tumors are being identified at an early stage. In addition, the increasing use of effective induction therapies also reduces the size of many other tumors prior to surgery. As a result, surgery for small tumors is increasing. However, small lesions can be difficult to localize during surgery, increasing complication rates and the risk of incomplete tumor removals. Recently, innovative approaches have opened the way to improved localization of soft-tissue lesions during open surgery, enabling efficient removal by surgeons. One of these approaches is based on the image-guided needle-based introduction of small magnetic seeds prior to surgery, and the use of a probe to detect and determine the location of these seeds during surgery, such as the Pintuition system, developed by project partner Sirius Medical. Subsequently, the distance to the probe tip, and the angles with the probe, are shown to the physician who needs to mentally map this information to the surgical field. However, this system is not yet compatible with endo- or laparoscopic operations, while scopic operations –when possible– are best for the patient. The overarching goal of this project therefore is to develop and assess a prototype system to provide:
- accurate 3D localization of seeds during surgery based on the information from the magnetic seed probe for thoracoscopic applications, and
- effective visualization using augmented reality in the surgical field.
The primary application in this project is surgery on small lung tumors, a field where there is a strong need for such localization approaches, and which is also rapidly growing because of screening programs.
Funding: Health Holland
Project parterns: Sirius Medical Systems BV, Erasmus MC (Deps. of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Cardio-thoracic Surgery and Oncological Surgery)
