Navigated three dimensional beta probe for optimal cancer resection

In minimally invasive tumor resection, the desirable goal is to perform a minimal but complete removal of cancerous cells. In the last decades interventional nuclear medicine probes supported the detection of remaining tumor cells. However, scanning the patient with an intraoperative probe and applying the treatment are not done simultaneously. The main contribution of this work is to extend the one dimensional signal of a beta-probe to a four dimensional signal including the spatial information of the distal end of the probe. We generate a color encoded surface map of the scanned activity and guide any tracked surgical instrument back to the regions with measured activity. For navigation, we implement an augmented reality visualization that superimposes the acquired surface on a visual image of the real anatomy. Alternatively, a simulated beta-probe count rate in the tip of a tracked therapeutic instrument is simulated showing the count number and coding it as an acoustic signal. Preliminary tests were performed showing the feasibility of the new designed system and the viability of such a three dimensional intraoperative molecular imaging modality.