Data from: Bio-inspired imager improves sensitivity in near-infrared fluorescence image-guided surgery

Image-guided surgery can enhance cancer treatment by decreasing, and ideally eliminating, positive tumor margins and iatrogenic damage to healthy tissue. Current state-of-the-art near-infrared fluorescence imaging systems are bulky and costly, lack sensitivity under surgical illumination, and lack co-registration accuracy between multimodal images. As a result, an overwhelming majority of physicians still rely on their unaided eyes and palpation as the primary sensing modalities for distinguishing cancerous from healthy tissue. Here we introduce an innovative design, comprising an artificial multispectral sensor inspired by the Morpho butterfly’s compound eye, which can significantly improve image-guided surgery. By monolithically integrating spectral tapetal filters with photodetectors, we have realized a single-chip multispectral imager with 1000× higher sensitivity and 7× better spatial co-registration accuracy compared to clinical imaging systems in current use. Preclinical and clinical data demonstrate that this technology seamlessly integrates into the surgical workflow while providing surgeons with real-time information on the location of cancerous tissue and sentinel lymph nodes. Due to its low manufacturing cost, our bio-inspired sensor will provide resource-limited hospitals with much-needed technology to enable more accurate value-based health care.影像引导手术（Image-guided surgery）可通过减少乃至彻底消除肿瘤阳性切缘（positive tumor margins），并避免对健康组织的医源性损伤（iatrogenic damage），从而优化癌症治疗效果。当前最先进的近红外荧光成像系统（near-infrared fluorescence imaging systems）体积庞大、成本高昂，在手术照明环境下灵敏度不足，且多模态图像间的空间配准精度（co-registration accuracy）欠佳。正因如此，绝大多数医师仍依赖裸眼目视与触诊作为区分癌组织与健康组织的主要感知手段。在此我们提出一款创新设计：其核心为受闪蝶复眼（Morpho butterfly’s compound eye）启发的人工多光谱传感器（multispectral sensor），可显著改善影像引导手术的应用效果。通过将光谱绒毡滤光片（spectral tapetal filters）与光电探测器（photodetectors）进行单片集成，我们成功研发出一款单芯片多光谱成像仪（single-chip multispectral imager），其灵敏度较当前临床在用成像系统提升1000倍，空间配准精度提升7倍。临床前（Preclinical）与临床研究数据表明，该技术可无缝融入手术流程，同时为术者提供癌组织与前哨淋巴结（sentinel lymph nodes）位置的实时信息。由于制造成本低廉，这款仿生传感器可为资源匮乏的医疗机构提供亟需的技术支撑，助力实现更精准的价值医疗（value-based health care）。