Gamma Ray Imaging probes for radioguided Surgery and Site-Directed Biopsy

Since 1998, substantial technical progress has been made in the development of imaging probes and, more generally, high-resolution detectors. However, handheld high-resolution gamma cameras are not yet standardized and only recently have some cameras passed from prototypes to industrialized devices. Clinical studies are still in the form of pilot or feasibility studies. Scopinaro et al., who have the widest and most varied reports, have examined more than 100 cases so far, many of which have served to improve the detector. The previously cited studies thus await validation of each method with multicentric studies on large cohorts of patients. If confi rmed, the results obtained by investigators with different methods and differently designed devices will provide a valuable contribution to radioguided surgery. At present, imaging probes are complex detectors that promise to make radioguided surgery easier and more evidence-based. Moreover, use of these detectors will probably open new fi elds of interest for radioguided operations.