Development and first in-human use of a Raman spectroscopy guidance system integrated with a brain biopsy needle

Navigation-guided brain biopsies are the standard of care for diagnosis of several brain pathologies. However, imprecise targeting and tissue heterogeneity often hinder obtaining high-quality tissue samples, resulting in poor diagnostic yield. We report the development and first clinical testing of a navigation-guided fiberoptic Raman probe that allows surgeons to interrogate brain tissue in situ at the tip of the biopsy needle prior to tissue removal. The 900 μm diameter probe can detect high spectral quality Raman signals in both the fingerprint and high wavenumber spectral regions with minimal disruption to the neurosurgical workflow. The probe was tested in three brain tumor patients, and the acquired spectra in both normal brain and tumor tissue demonstrated the expected spectral features, indicating the quality of the data. As a proof-of-concept, we also demonstrate the consistency of the acquired Raman signal with different systems and experimental settings. Additional clinical development is planned to further evaluate the performance of the system and develop a statistical model for real-time tissue classification during the biopsy procedure.