Parathyroid identification during thyroid and parathyroid operations: A pilot study evaluating a novel low cost...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Technology
• Biophotonics

Background:

• Parathyroid gland (PG) visualization during surgery is crucial for preventing complications.
• Current methods for intraoperative PG identification can be costly and may require contrast agents.
• Developing a low-cost, contrast-free method for real-time PG imaging is highly desirable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost prototype near-infrared fluorescence device.
• To enable contrast-free, real-time, high-resolution intraoperative visualization of normal and pathological PGs.
• To utilize the inherent autofluorescence (AF) of PGs for imaging.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel near-infrared parathyroid AF (NIR-PAF) imaging device.
• Integration of visible laser PG targeting into the device.
• Evaluation of the device during pilot clinical studies involving parathyroid and thyroid operations.

Main Results:

• The NIR-PAF device successfully identified parathyroid adenomas in 100% of cases (ex vivo and in vivo).
• The device identified all PGs (6 total) in two thyroidectomy evaluations.
• The prototype device was built at a low cost, under $1200 Canadian.

Conclusions:

• An inexpensive NIR-PAF device can be developed for intraoperative use.
• The device effectively identifies both normal and pathological PGs.
• This technology offers a promising solution for improved intraoperative PG localization.