At the 48th Annual Conference of the European Society for Surgical Research (ESSR), held in Istanbul from 29 May to 1 June 2013, the research study entitled “ICG with PDE camera and blue dye for sentinel node biopsy in early breast cancer” was awarded the B. Braun Scientific Award. This prestigious award is presented annually for the best presentation that describes the best surgical technique or surgical device.
The research study was led by Professors Gordon Wishart and John Benson from Cambridge (UK) and was presented by Mr Vassilis Pitsinis from Mediterraneo Hospital, Athens, Greece.
The study demonstrated how the use of fluorescent ICG, detected by a PhotoDynamic Eye (PDE) camera, can replace the use of radioisotope for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer with a method that is cheaper, avoids the radiation risk of radioisotope and is easier to use for training of junior surgeons.
Current research studies with ICG and PDE camera are now under way in sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma and anal cancer.