Prototype of a single probe Compton camera for laparoscopic surgery

Abstract

Image-guided surgery (IGS) is performed using a real-time surgery navigation system with three-dimensional (3D) position tracking of surgical tools. IGS is fast becoming an important technology for high-precision laparoscopic surgeries, in which the field of view is limited. In particular, recent developments in intraoperative imaging using radioactive biomarkers may enable advanced IGS for supporting malignant tumor removal surgery. In this light, we develop a novel intraoperative probe with a Compton camera and a position tracking system for performing real-time radiation-guided surgery. A prototype probe consisting of Ce:Gd3Al2Ga3O12 (GAGG) crystals and silicon photomultipliers was fabricated, and its reconstruction algorithm was optimized to enable real-time position tracking. The results demonstrated the visualization capability of the radiation source with ARM=∼22.1° and the effectiveness of the proposed system.