Canadian researchers have developed a powerful imaging technique that would aid physicians in their fight against cancer. The team from the School of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University in Canada has designed a high-resolution endoscopic surgical and imaging probe, the very first in the world capable of allowing surgeons to see brain tumors in 10 times more resolution than traditional imaging technologies such as CT and MRI scans.
Brain cancers are among the most debilitating types of cancer, affecting tens of thousands of Americans each year, and are forecast to take close to 20,000 lives in 2023. Tumors of the brain and spinal cord are especially hard to treat and have low survival rates because their proximity to the brain makes them incredibly difficult to treat via means such as radiation and surgery without damaging healthy brain tissue.
Furthermore, natural defenses such as the blood-brain barrier, which are designed to protect the brain from dangerous substances, prevent drugs from reaching brain tumors and reduce the effectiveness of brain-tumor treatments.
Researchers and students from the School of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University have spent the past 10 years researching new frontiers in brain tumor treatment. The game-changing probe involves inserting a small 3mm-by-3mm gadget into the skull during surgery, allowing surgeons to trace the exact path of the tumor to facilitate precise surgical removal.
This technology could alleviate one of the largest barriers to brain cancer treatment via surgery: tumors are often located close to and within regions of the brain. Slicing out brain tumors via surgery is risky because it can result in the damage of healthy brain tissues, which could in turn cause significant cognitive and motor defects to the patients.
By granting surgeons the ability to see extremely high-quality images of brain tumors during surgery, the technology could boost treatment outcomes for surgery and potentially increase survival rates for brain tumors.
Lead researcher and department of electrical and computer engineering associate professor Jeremy Brown, PhD, says his inspiration to develop the imaging technology came over a decade ago after his PhD supervisor received a terminal brain tumor diagnosis. The experience inspired him to create cancer treatments that would allow surgeons to target brain tumor cells with more precision without accidentally harming healthy tissue.
Brown and a group of his undergraduate and graduate students have begun carrying out tests with the imaging probe. He has also teamed up with Dalhousie immunotherapy professors to learn how the new imaging technology could affect the immune system.
As brain cancer surgery improves, the drugs developed by enterprises such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) can boost cancer treatment by killing off any remaining cancer cells that aren’t removed during the surgical procedures.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP
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