Optiscan Imaging (ASX: OIL) and Mayo Clinic are collaborating to develop a digital confocal laser endomicroscopic imaging system for robot-assisted breast cancer surgery. This partnership, formalized through a 24-month agreement signed in May 2024, combines expertise from both organizations to improve surgical precision and patient outcomes. The technology seeks to streamline surgical workflows by providing surgeons with high-resolution, real-time, microscopic-level imaging, enabling more accurate tissue classification, cancer cell determination, and cancer margin assessment.
Optiscan and Mayo Clinic have identified the hardware and software requirements for a standalone imaging system, ensuring compatibility with various robotic surgical systems. A prototype has already been connected to a surgical robotic platform at Mayo Clinic, successfully demonstrating the feasibility of intraoperative microscopic imaging alongside standard camera views. The companies are also developing imaging probe accessory prototypes to integrate endomicroscopic probes with surgical instruments. Optiscan’s managing director, Dr. Camile Farah, emphasized the project’s potential to redefine surgical precision and enhance patient care by integrating advanced imaging into robotic surgical procedures. The collaboration aims to improve outcomes and advance the future of robotic-assisted surgery.
