INTRAOPERATIVE IMAGING PROBE FOR DELINEATION OF TUMORS

THE SURGICAL REMOVAL OF TUMORS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEDICAL PROCEDURES IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER. RECENTLY, RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT ACHIEVE IMPROVED SPECIFICITY AND EFFICIENCY FOR LABELING MALIGNANT TISSUE. THESE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE GENERATED A RESURGENCE OF INTEREST IN THE USE OF HAND-HELD, INTRAOPERATIVE NUCLEAR PROBES TO PROVIDE IN SITU INFORMATION FOR THE DELINEATION OFTUMORS. WHILE THE PRESENTLY AVAILABLE PROBES HAVE PROVEN EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF LESIONS, CLINICAL TESTS HAVE SHOWN THAT IN MANY SITUATIONS LOCALIZATION OF THE MALIGNANCY IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE USING ONLY THE POINT-BY-POINT DATA AVAILABLE FROM THE CURRENT PROBES. THE USEFULNESS OF NUCLEAR SURGICAL PROBES WOULD BE DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED BY THE ADDITION OF IMAGING CAPABILITY. SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT WOULD ALLOW THE SURGEON TO VISUALIZE BOTH THE TUMOR ITSELF AND THE AREA IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING IT TO MORE EASILY EXPLORE THE EXTENT OF THE MALIGNANCY. THIS PROJECT WILL CARRY OUT THE RESEARCH NECESSARY TO DEVELOP A COMPACT NUCLEAR IMAGING SURGICAL PROBE FOR USE IN THE DELINEATION OF LESIONS. IN PHASE I, THE DETECTOR WILL BE DESIGNED, AND A FULLY FUNCTIONAL LABORATORY PROTOTYPE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND ITS CAPABILITIES TESTED USING PHANTOMS.