With the contribution made by Yoann Gosselin, recent graduate in Biomedical Engineering at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal, brain cancer treatment is leaping forward. Taking advantage of Nüvü Cameras’ HNü performances, he heightened the sensitivity of a technique used in the removal of cancerous cells in the brain. Combined with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, this treatment will provide a better prognosis for brain cancer patients whose current life expectancy is limited.
During the course of his Master’s degree, Gosselin refined the equipment used by neurosurgeons to extract cancerous tissues. His work was performed at the Laboratoire de radiologie optique under the supervision of Professor Frederic Leblond at the École Polytechnique de Montréal and Olivier Daigle, Nüvü Cameras’ chief technology officer). Soon, the system will be tested in the US in the context of a promising clinical trial.
By combining a Carl Zeiss neurosurgical microscope to a spectrometer and then coupling the latter to Nüvü‘s electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) camera, the device detects protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), a molecule that specifically accumulates in malignant brain tissue, thus revealing cancer cells with accuracy.
Adding a state-of-the-art HNü camera boosts the whole system’s sensitivity, detecting PpIX concentration 25 times lower than any other device, according to the company. In addition to refining the boundaries between healthy cells, to preserve, and cancer cells, to extract, the HNü camera’s large field of view eases the neurosurgeon’s work by providing a full image of the exposed brain area.
This device assists brain cancer treatment in two ways. With differentiation between healthy and diseased cells, a neurosurgeon can perform faster surgery, thanks to fewer uncertainties, hence reducing the risk for the patient. Furthermore, increasing the number of detectable diseased cells enhances the procedure’s efficiency, thus prolonging the patient’s life expectancy.
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