New Imaging Sensors for a better view of the tumor, Cancer surgeons can get a better view of the tumor during surgery thanks to new imaging sensors that can detect multiple biomarkers in real time, researchers and – reported at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Fluorescent nanoparticles, wrapped in red cell membranes, target tumors better than currently approved clinical dyes that can display two different levels in response to the same surgical light, something that can help doctors distinguishing tumor boundaries and detecting metastatic cancer.
Imaging can be combined with a bioinspired camera, which researchers have previously developed for direct monitoring during surgery, said research team leader Viktor Gruev, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois.
In a new study published in the journal ACS Nano, the researchers showed their two nanoparticles-signal nanoparticles and tumor phantoms – 3D models that reflect the characteristics of tumors and their surroundings – in mice.
“If you want to find all cancers, imaging one biomarker is not enough. It may miss some tumors. If you introduce a second or third biomarker, the chances of removing all cancer cells increase and the chances of better results for patients increase, said Gruev, who is also a professor at Carle Illinois College of Medicine.
“Multidisciplinary medicine has recently become available, and our team is leading this process because we have camera technology that can produce many signals in one time.”
Traditionally, a surgeon removes the tumor and sends it to a pathologist for evaluation, a process that can take hours to days, said Illinois postdoctoral researcher Indrajit Srivastava, first author of the said the document.
As the research continues and the analysis of time, many challenges have been prevented quickly: many people who are in charge of the imaging think that the tumor does not reach the target of their tumor, instead of quickly disappearing in the blood and builds up in the liver, Srivastava said.
“A few people before us have coated red blood cells with nanoparticles and found that they circulate for a long time – a few days. We found the same thing in our mice: the skin-coated nanoparticles circulate for a long time in the blood, reducing the absorption of the liver.
Because they circulate for a long time, the imagers concentrate on the tumor, giving us a strong fluorescent signal,” said Srivastava.
The two biomarkers that the new imaging experts are targeting include those that are more common in early-stage cancers and those that are more common in late-stage cancers, which may be metastatic.
The researchers found that the tests were effective in distinguishing inflamed tissue from healthy tissue, and distinguishing the two symptoms from each other.
“This is an interesting thing for surgical instruments, because it can help define exactly where to make the cut. Having many signs gives a complete description of the tumor.
And that can tell the surgeon, “It might be metastatic, you might want to be aggressive in your removal.” Srivastava said.
The fact that only one wavelength of laser light is needed to produce many marks is another advantage for surgical instruments, since it makes the instrument more compact than those that require several lasers for each wavelength need to move, said Gruev.
The researchers plan to develop tumor imaging agents that target multiple markers and continue preliminary studies in hospitals using the imaging device they developed with surgical glasses.
“In this fight to make sure we remove all cancer cells during surgery, we want to invest in imaging technology and oncologists,” Gruev said.
“This work helps us to better understand and guide our holistic approach as we approach clinical trials.”
Source: University of Illinois
