Label-free parathyroid gland identification during pediatric neck surgeries with near infrared autofluorescence detection

Abstract

Several studies have already demonstrated that near infrared autofluorescence (NIRAF) detection can be reliably used to detect parathyroid glands (PGs) in adults. However, its scope remains unexplored in the pediatric population, who are more prone to accidental PG damage during neck surgeries. Our preliminary findings obtained from pediatric patients who underwent thyroidectomies, indicate a PG detection rate of 94.4% using NIRAF detection with a fiber-optic probe-based approach. Due to the complexities associated with surgeries performed through tiny neck incisions in the pediatric population, the fiber-optic probe-based NIRAF detection can be valuable for real-time label-free PG identification during pediatric neck surgeries.