Search

A brain needle biopsy procedure is performed for suspected brain lesions in order to sample tissue that is subsequently analysed using standard histopathology techniques. A common complication resulting from this procedure is brain hemorrhaging from blood vessels clipped off during tissue extraction. Interstitial optical tomography (iOT) has recently been introduced by our group as a mean to assess the presence of blood vessels in the vicinity of the needle. The clinical need to improve safety requires the detection of blood vessels within 2 mm from the outer surface of the needle, since this distance is representative of the volume of tissue that is aspirated durirng tissue extraction. Here, a sensitivity analysis is presented to establish the intrinsic detection limits of iOT based on simulations and experiments using brain tissue phantoms. It is demonstrated that absorbers can be detected with diameters >300 μm located up to >2 mm from the biopsy needle core for bulk optical properties consistent with brain tissue.

The extraction of tissue samples during brain needle biopsy can cause life-threatening hemorrhage because of significant blood vessel injury during the procedure. Vessel rupture can have significant consequences for patient health, ranging from transient neurological deficits to death. Here, we present a sub-diffuse optical tomography technique that can be integrated into neurosurgical workflow to detect the presence of blood vessels. A proof-of-concept study performed on a realistic brain tissue phantom is presented and demonstrates that interstitial optical tomography (iOT) can detect several 1 mm diameter high-contrast absorbing objects located