High-resolution, submillimetre imaging in surgical oncology: The AURA 10 at University Hospital Coventry
18th November 2024
At a glance
> University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust is successfully piloting the XEOS AURA 10 mobile PET-CT imager.
> The device is allowing surgeons to assess tumour margins directly in theatre in as little as 10 minutes.
> The trial is a part of the Trust’s ‘eXcision’ study to demonstrate the AURA 10’s effectiveness, with promising results already.
Informed clinical decision-making in theatre
Following the recent announcement that University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UCHW) NHS Trust has accepted the UK’s first XEOS AURA 10, surgeons are now successfully piloting the mobile PET-CT imager, allowing them to assess tumour margins in real-time directly in theatre in as little as 10 minutes. During surgery, the device can image an excised specimen directly and use high-resolution, submillimetre imaging to determine if a tumour has been removed. If not, surgeons can continue operating immediately to remove any remaining cancerous tissue.
Using this precise new technology prevents the need for specimens to be taken to radiology or pathology laboratories for examination, significantly improving surgical outcomes for patients. UCHW is piloting the AURA 10 specifically for prostate, head, and neck cancer, and are looking to introduce it to other areas as well.
Professor Andy Hardy, Chief Executive Officer at UHCW NHS Trust, said: “The technology we are testing has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for our patients who opt for surgery as part of their cancer treatment.
“AURA 10 provides rapid imaging of tumour specimen at the point of surgery, which we believe will better inform clinical decision making in the theatre environment. As a UK first, we are delighted to be able to pilot this emerging technology for our patients.”
“The AURA 10 offers unparalleled clarity and precision …”
The AURA 10 trial is being supported by the Trust’s Research and Development Department as part of the ‘eXcision’ study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the device. The study is being led by the Nuclear Medicine Team.
Oludolapo Adesanya, Consultant Radiologist, Clinical Lead for Nuclear Medicine and the trial Principal Investigator states: “The AURA 10 offers unparalleled clarity and precision, empowering surgeons and radiologists to make faster and accurate decisions regarding tumour margin resection while the patient in still in the operating theatre.
“Our ongoing multidisciplinary research has drawn together specialists from nuclear medicine, medical physics, maxillofacial surgery, urology and histopathology to explore further ways of improving patient care.”
“… the potential of the AURA 10 to deliver improved outcomes for our patients will be a real game changer.”
Lisa Rowley, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Head of Nuclear Medicine, said: “It’s incredibly exciting that the Trust is an early adopter of this innovative device. The imaging results are stunning and the potential of the AURA 10 to deliver improved outcomes for our patients will be a real game changer. There has been a lot of work involved in the set-up, which has been a huge team effort, and it’s been fantastic working with such a mix of enthusiastic and dedicated colleagues across different disciplines.”
“… providing an undisputedly world-class service, unmatched in the UK.”
The AURA 10 was first used at the hospital in October during an operation for a patient with a carcinoma of the jaw. MaxilloFacial Consultant Gary Walton, who also Assistant Medical Director for Cancer at the Trust, said: “It takes 10 minutes to put a specimen into the machine and we can scan it during the normal break in a procedure.
“It’s much quicker than the usual margin resection and it means that patients don’t need to have adjuvant treatment (such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy), which they would otherwise need. This device has the potential to be used by a lot of different departments.”
And Donald MacDonald, Consultant Urologist, who used the AURA 10 during prostatectomy procedures, said: “We are hoping that the AURA 10 will allow us to perform the minimum amount of surgery, examine the specimen whilst we’re in theatre - whilst the patient is asleep - to see if what we’ve done has been sufficient to cure the cancer. If it has, that’s brilliant, we can leave all of the adjacent structures intact. Whereas, if the imaging tells us that there is still likely to be residual disease, then we can go on and remove it.
“The AURA 10 has the potential to make this transformative technique available cheaply and routinely to radical prostatectomy patients, providing an undisputedly world-class service, unmatched in the UK.”
Find out more
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