New study highlights the potential of Cellvizio confocal laser endomicroscopy to enhance precision in margin assessment, improving outcomes in transoral robotic surgery with the da Vinci SP system.
Mauna Kea Technologies (Euronext Growth: ALMKT), inventor of Cellvizio®, the multidisciplinary probe and needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (p/nCLE) platform, announces very promising results in a new surgical indication published in a recent case series in Oral Oncology Reports. Surgeons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham, Alabama) have demonstrated the clinical feasibility and potential advantages of using the Cellvizio confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) platform during transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in combination with the da Vinci SP robotic surgical system by Intuitive to enhance the precision of margin assessment for head and neck cancers.
“This technology represents a paradigm shift in how we might assess surgical margins,” stated Dr. Bharat Akhanda Panuganti, an ENT surgeon and lead researcher. “We can visualize microscopic peripheral cancer margins in real time during surgery. We hope this advancement will maximize the likelihood of complete resection with precision, reducing the need for wide presumptive margins in highly susceptible anatomic regions, with the goal of maximizing patient functional outcomes.”
Head and neck cancers present unique surgical challenges, particularly in achieving clear margins while minimizing tissue loss to preserve critical functions such as swallowing and speech. Positive surgical margins – meaning cancer remains in the patient’s body after resection – occur in up to 15-20% of TORS procedures according to the study and are associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer recurrence.
The Cellvizio CLE platform directly addresses these challenges by providing high-resolution, real-time imaging of cellular structures and architecture. Cellvizio allows surgeons to visually delineate tumor boundaries intraoperatively, facilitating precise resection while sparing healthy tissue. This study focused on the application of Cellvizio in assessing mucosal margins during TORS for cancers of the larynx, hypopharynx and oropharynx.
Sacha Loiseau, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Mauna Kea Technologies commented: "This is yet another demonstration of the versatility and utility that our Cellvizio platform brings to robotic-assisted cancer surgery by enabling real-time, cellular-level insights to improve surgical precision and patient outcomes. Cellvizio not only addresses critical challenges like margin assessment but also offers a compelling opportunity for partners developing complementary technologies to integrate this innovation, enhancing their solutions and advancing the standard of care for patients worldwide."