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Intraoperative optical technologies such as Near-Infrared Fluorescence imaging, multispectral or hyperspectral imaging enable an improved visualization of unapparent anatomical structures, the evaluation of metabolic activities and the enhanced visualization of tumor tissue, when compared to white light evaluation alone. Thanks to some groundbreaking innovations, optical imaging can well be a powerful theranostic tool that can help tackling the challenges of surgical oncology: to ensure a complete removal of tumor tissue and to reduce the risk of surgical complications. An extensive intelligence and networking activity, including main opinion leaders in the field, has allowed identifying 4 major axes of development of optical imaging, including: 1) SOFTWARE: the integration of computer-assisted interpretation of the optically generated signal through dedicated software solution and Artificial Intelligence, machine and deep learning approaches, towards the building of an OPTOMICS paradigm, in analogy with other omics (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, radiomics). 2) HARDWARE: the development of improved hardware solutions, with optimized sensitivity and improved ergonomics. 3) CHEMISTRY: the development of innovative probes, which recognize precisely biological targets or tumor cells and allow for image-guided removal of cancers by focused energy delivery or surgical ablation. 4) TECHNIQUES: improvement of state-of-the-art techniques (surgical or interventional) by the implementation of optical imaging AND development of innovative minimally invasive organ-sparing techniques specifically enabled by optical imaging and surgical robotics. |
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