We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

HospiMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News AI Critical Care Surgical Techniques Patient Care Health IT Point of Care Business Focus

Magnetic Probe Guides Surgical Breast Lumpectomy

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 12 Oct 2016
Print article
Image: The Sentimag device and magnetic probe (Photo courtesy of Endomag).
Image: The Sentimag device and magnetic probe (Photo courtesy of Endomag).
A novel magnetic surgical guidance probe uses an implantable lesion marker to easily guide surgeons to cancerous lesions.

The Sentimag+Magseed combination device is a novel surgical guidance system designed to replace surgical wire needles and radioactive seeds, the two standards of care currently in practice for finding a breast tumor in advance of a lumpectomy. The Magseed implantable magnetic marker, a spiral shaped coil the size of a grain of rice, is first placed within the tumor in an outpatient procedure up to 30 days before the lumpectomy, allowing patients to return home before their operation.

During the lumpectomy, the Sentimag device is used to provide ultrasensitive, intuitive detection of the tumor, based on the principle of magnetic susceptometry. It does so by first generating an alternating magnetic field to transiently magnetize the iron oxide particles in the Magseed, and then detecting the tiny magnetic signature. Guided by the large two-color digital display and by an audible pitch variation, the surgeon can focus on the patient, not the device.

The Sentimag device boasts extremely high on-axis sensitivity for naturally intuitive and accurate node location. Sensitivity is adjustable in three settings from a control on the front panel, making it capable of detecting even minute quantities of magnetic material in the body. The Sentimag+Magseed combination device is a product of Endomag (Cambridge, United Kingdom), and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Magseed is designed to guide surgeons using Sentimag to locate impalpable tumors for biopsy and has many advantages over wire and radioactive seed localization,” said device co-inventor professor Audrius Brazdeikis, PhD, a physicist at the University of Houston (UH, TX, USA). “Radiologists can place the Magseed magnetic markers up to 30 days in advance of surgery using X-ray or ultrasound guidance. This offers scheduling flexibility for surgeons and radiologists, as well as for patients, compared to wire-guided localization.”

Current lumpectomies require traditional guide wires inserted by a radiologist in a separate procedure prior to the procedure. The wires protrude from the patient’s breast, leading to potential discomfort and restricting the patient to the hospital environment. More critically, the protruding guide wires risk movement prior to surgery, requiring follow-up surgery in up to 55% of lumpectomy procedures.

Related Links:
Endomag
University of Houston
Gold Member
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® patented HydraFlock®
New
Infant Phototherapy Unit
TRP100
New
Doppler String Phantom
CIRS Model 043A

Print article
Radcal

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
mage: The electroceutical epidermal patch is designed to inhibit bacterial growth (Photo courtesy of Saehyun Kim/University of Chicago)

Cutting-Edge Bioelectronic Device Offers Drug-Free Approach to Managing Bacterial Infections

Antibiotic-resistant infections pose an increasing threat to patient safety and healthcare systems worldwide. Recent estimates indicate that drug-resistant infections may rise by 70% by 2050, highlighting... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable biosensor platform uses printed electrochemical sensors for the rapid, selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (Photo courtesy of AIMPLAS)

Portable Biosensor Platform to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

Approximately 4 million patients in the European Union acquire healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections each year, with around 37,000 deaths directly resulting from these infections,... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The acoustic pipette uses sound waves to test for biomarkers in blood (Photo courtesy of Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Handheld, Sound-Based Diagnostic System Delivers Bedside Blood Test Results in An Hour

Patients who go to a doctor for a blood test often have to contend with a needle and syringe, followed by a long wait—sometimes hours or even days—for lab results. Scientists have been working hard to... Read more