Wirelessly Powered Visible Light-Emitting Implant for Surgical Guidance during Lumpectomy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Surgical Oncology
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Achieving negative surgical margins in breast cancer lumpectomy is crucial to prevent local recurrence.
• Current localization methods for nonpalpable tumors include wire and wire-free techniques, with wire-free options offering practical advantages.
• Accurate tumor localization is essential for effective surgical resection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate an innovative, needle-injectable, wire-free localization system for breast cancer surgery.
• To assess the feasibility of using wirelessly powered, multi-color LEDs for intraoperative surgical guidance.
• To demonstrate the depth-dependent visual feedback provided by the LED localization device.

Main Methods:

• Development of a miniaturized, implantable LED device encapsulated in biocompatible epoxy.
• Integration of wirelessly powered LEDs with an impedance-matching circuit and receiver coil for needle injection (12 G).
• Evaluation of the device's visibility and depth-dependent color changes (blue <1 cm, red >2 cm) in ex vivo tissue models using a handheld antenna system with <4 W transmitted power.

Main Results:

• The developed LED implant is needle-injectable and wire-free.
• The device provides clear, depth-dependent color visualization (blue vs. red light) indicating tissue depth.
• The implant remained visible through >2 cm of ex vivo muscle tissue with low power consumption.

Conclusions:

• The novel LED-based localization system offers a promising wire-free approach for guiding lumpectomy in nonpalpable breast tumors.
• This technology has the potential to enhance surgical precision and improve outcomes by providing direct visual guidance.
• The needle-injectable, miniaturized design facilitates easier clinical application compared to traditional localization methods.