6 cm Diameter Silicon Photmultiplier Gamma Camera |
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Photograph of the top surface of a gamma camera with a 6 cm diameter field of view. The camera is based on silicon photomultipliers and is light enough to be hand held, or it can be attached to an adjustable arm.
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Sentinel Lymph Node Imaging |
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| Images obtained with the 6 cm SiPM camera before (left) and after (right) the excision of a single sentinel lymph node (SLN). The left image shows 4 SLNs. In the right image, the excision of one of the SLNs allows a fifth, deeply seated node to be visualized. The 5th node was not appreciated preoperatively by either the large clinical gamma camera or a smaller mobile gamma camera. This is an example of the value of intraoperative imaging.
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Measuring Activity of Excised Node |
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Use of the SiPM gamma camera to measure the activity of an excised sentinel lymph node. The camera's specially built parallel hole collimator can be seen through the sterile plastic drape surrounding the camera. |
Together with UVa surgeons and collaborators from the Jefferson Lab and West Virginia University, we are exploring the use of new types of small format imaging devices for use in surgical guidance. Some areas in which intaoperative visualization can be of value are tumor localization, evaluation of the extent of tumor margins, and detection and localization of lymph nodes. Imaging can be done both pre-operatively immediately before surgery and intra-operatively during the surgical procedure itself. Cameras can be arm-mounted or hand-held. The photographs below show Dr. Craig Slingluff utilizing an arm-mounted mobile gamma camera intraoperatively (left) and preoperatively (right).
