In 2019 the University of Lübeck, together with the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) and the Medical Laser centre Lübeck (MLL) initiated the Neuro-OCT study. The aim of the project is the translation from results of previous ex-vivo studies investigating the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for detection and demarcation of brain tumor tissue into clinical application in-vivo in the operating room during neuro-surgeries.
A main development of the Neuro-OCT project was the integration of MHz-OCT technologies developed in the group of Prof. Dr. Huber into a surgical microscope. The engineering challenge therein lay in implementing the OCT system integration in a manner that seamlessly merged it with existing neuro-surgical tooling and while maintaing established operational workflows using the microscope.
The paper now published gives an in-depth description of the constraints within which the microscope integration had to be implemented, the engineering choices that allowed to sidestep the obstacles presented by those, and a thorough evaluation of the integrated OCT system’s performance. Furthermore high profile results are shown from the clinical study, which concluded in May 2024.
