Magnetic seeds for localising small tumours in lung tumour surgery

Project summary

In the INSIDE project, Sirius Medical Systems and Erasmus MC collaborate to develop a magnetic seed tracking system that can be used in thoracoscopic lung surgery.

With increasing sensitivity of imaging and screening programs such as lung cancer screening, more tumours are being identified at an early stage. In addition, the increasing use of effective induction therapies also reduces the size of many other tumours prior to surgery. As a result, surgery for small tumours is increasing. However, small lesions can be difficult to localize during surgery, increasing complication rates and the risk of incomplete tumour removals. This holds especially for minimally invasive procedure, where the surgeon has a small field of view, and tactile feedback is lacking.

There are innovative approaches to address the localization of small tumours, such as the introduction of small magnetic seeds, in combination with a probe that localizes the seed during surgery, such as produced by Sirius Medical Systems. However, current seeds and probe can not be used in thoracoscopic procedures. In this project we will therefore develop a prototype system that can:

1. localise magnetic seeds in thoracosopic surgery using a miniaturized probe, and
2. effectively visualise the seed in the surgical field.

The result of the project is a prototype system for seed localization in thoracoscopic surgery.