Ovarian cancer is very common in women. Tumors develop in the stomach without any noticeable symptoms. The problem is generally identified at a developed stage, requiring chemotherapy and surgery.
During the surgery, surgeons try to eliminate tumor completely. To perform this, they depend on palpation and visual examination, with which it is difficult to detect left over tumor borders or tiny tumor nests after the initial tumor excision surgery.
new camera system
Scientists in Munich, led by Professor of Biological Imaging, Vasilis Ntziachristos have designed an innovative multispectral fluorescence imaging system to assist surgeons. A research performed on nine patients with ovarian cancer determined that the novel system can be utilized to confine cancer cells during the operation. The patients were given folic acid injections chemically bonded with a green fluorescent dye before the surgery. Most ovarian tumors contain a surface protein molecule, folate receptor alpha, which binds with folic acid and transfers it into the cell. During the surgery, the doctor can focus a laser beam onto the ovaries of the patient, resulting in the emission of light by the green-labeled folic acid within the cancer cells while the healthy tissue is dark.
It is not possible, however to identify the fluorescent cancer cells. The operating table is fitted with a pivoting support arm having three cameras, can identify fluorescent and optical signals at multiple spectral bands. They adjust the output for light variations because of tissue discolorations and illumination so as to obtain precise fluorescence images which are displayed as color images on monitors. The surgeon can be sure that all the cancerous cells have been removed by checking for any remnant fluorescent light. Multispectral fluorescence imaging system helped in removing even very tiny tumour cell clusters that might not have been identified otherwise, thereby clearing its first OR test. Before it is actually deployed, it is important that the technology is clinically accepted and approved by regulatory bodies.