Giving Surgeons “Infrared Vision” to Reduce Risks in Esophageal Surgery

Researchers // Professor Hongjie DAI, Sapientia Eminence Professor and Chair Professor of the Department of Chemistry
HKU Partnership // Faculty of Engineering, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy
 

Esophagectomy is a highly complex operation, and one of its most dangerous complications, anastomotic leakage, happens when the reconnected tissue does not receive enough blood. It affects up to 30% of patients and can be life-threatening.

 

A cross-disciplinary research team has, for the first time, successfully brought nearinfrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence video imaging into esophagectomy. Compared with conventional imaging, NIR-II technology offers deeper tissue penetration, higher resolution, and much lower background interference.

 
By combining high-clarity NIR- II video imaging with rapid computational analysis, the technique clearly and automatically identifies areas of the reconstructed tissue with adequate and inadequate blood supply within one minute of dye administration. It rapidly identifies regions of the tissue with different blood perfusion patterns, i.e., poorly perfused, intermediate perfused and adequately perfused regions, thereby guiding surgical decision. This provides more precise, objective guidance on where to remove damaged tissue and reconnect the esophagus.

 

Around 30 patients in Hong Kong have already benefited, with highly encouraging outcomes.

 

食道切除術是一項相當複雜的外科手術，其中最令人 關注的併發症之一是「吻合口漏」，即食道與胃管縫 合處發生的胃腸道缺損，此併發症的發生率約為10–30%。港大跨學科團隊率先在臨床上應用紅外線二區 螢光成像技術，結合高解析度的紅外線二區影像和快 速電腦視訊分析，能夠客觀地劃分血供良好區和血供不良區，協助手術決策並降低吻合口漏的風險。目前本 港約有30 名病人已受惠於此新技術，初步成效理想。