Toward microendoscopic electrical impedance tomography for intraoperative surgical margin assessment

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Current prostate surgery lacks real-time margin assessment, delaying intervention until after prostatectomy.
• Pathological assessment post-surgery is too late for immediate surgical adjustments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a microendoscopic electrical impedance tomography (EIT) probe for intraoperative surgical margin assessment.
• To assess the probe's ability to differentiate between benign and malignant prostate tissue based on electrical properties.

Main Methods:

• Construction of a microendoscopic EIT probe with eight 0.6-mm electrodes in a 5-mm tip for laparoscopic access.
• Testing the probe's sensitivity volume, including experiments with gelatin inclusions and porcine tissue.
• Evaluating the probe's resolution and ability to distinguish tissue types at a sub-millimeter scale.

Main Results:

• The EIT probe demonstrated sensitivity within a circular area of 9.1 mm² and a maximum depth of 1.5 mm.
• The probe successfully distinguished between muscle and adipose tissue at a scale of approximately 500 μm.
• Preliminary results indicate the feasibility of EIT within a probe suitable for a 12-mm laparoscopic port.

Conclusions:

• The developed microendoscopic EIT probe shows promise for real-time intraoperative margin assessment in prostate surgery.
• This technology could enable immediate surgical decisions, potentially improving patient outcomes.
• Further development is warranted to validate its clinical utility in distinguishing prostate tissue pathologies.