Development of a Visible-Near Infrared Projected Multispectral Imaging System for Intraoperative Breast Tumor Margin...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Technology
• Oncology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of tumor margins is critical for successful breast-conserving surgery (BCS).
• Intraoperative margin assessment traditionally relies on surgeon's visual inspection and frozen section analysis, which can be time-consuming and may have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel visible-near infrared projected multispectral imaging (Proj-MSI) system for real-time intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment.
• To enable precise projection of identified tumor margins onto the surgical cavity to guide tumor removal.

Main Methods:

• Development of a Proj-MSI system integrating a multispectral imaging (MSI) subsystem and a compact projector.
• Utilized sequential illumination with 26 sets of visible-near infrared light-emitting diodes and a NIR-sensitive camera for MSI acquisition (24 nm spectral resolution).
• Employed a speeded-up robust features algorithm for field-of-view calibration, enabling projection of tumor margins with <1 mm error.

Main Results:

• The Proj-MSI system achieved rapid (~1 min) delineation of tumor margins.
• Significantly reduced reflectivity was observed in breast tumors compared to surrounding tissue (p < 0.01).
• Projected tumor margin boundaries were successfully demonstrated using Indian ink, simulating surgical removal.

Conclusions:

• The developed Proj-MSI system shows significant potential for intraoperative tumor margin assessment during BCS.
• This technology can assist surgeons in achieving clear margins, potentially improving patient outcomes.
• Proj-MSI offers a rapid and accurate method for guiding surgical tumor resection.