The Need

In the field of cancer pathology, the identification and sampling of tumors is essential for both surgical applications and treatment plans for patients that may include post-operative chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Currently pathologists and pathologist assistants rely on visual and tactile cues to identify and locate tumors in resected tissues. The proper identification and processing of a tissue specimen is crucial as inaccuracies in tumor processing may result in errors in pathological diagnoses and reduce treatment efficacy. Currently pathologists are limited to two-dimensional views of potentially malignant tissue in the operating room, which reduces their ability to identify the number of tumors, orientation, and the relationship to the nearest surgical margin of resection. Technologies with the ability to provide a three-dimensional view in the operating room may greatly improve tumor identification and sampling thereby improving surgical outcomes and providing guidance for post-surgical treatment plans.

The Technology

A team of multi-disciplinary researchers at The Ohio State University developed a system that provides a real-time augmented visual to accurately guide a surgeon to cancerous tumors. The system incorporates a 'Wearable Augmented Reality' device with a stereo electro-optical camera to create an overlapping field-of-view. A gamma camera and CT scanners provide the locations of lymphatic and cancerous tissues. A 'pathology locator wand' provides a pinpoint accuracy of the cancerous tissue, which will reduce the possibility of accidentally removing healthy tissue. The combination of the 'Wearable Augmented Reality' with the 'pathology locator wand' will provide pathologists with a 3-dimensional view of tumors, which represents the novel advantage of this technology.

Commercial Applications

• Surgical resection
• Pathologic Cancer Staging
• Organ health assessment
• Real-time assessment of tissues
• Navigation-assisted medical procedures

Benefits/Advantages

• Markedly improved accuracy in locating tumors
• Expedited tumor removal and specimen processing
• Marginal assessment of tumor environment to prevent removal of healthy tissue
• Identification of metastatic disease in vivo