The FDA approved Dartmouth Center for Surgical Innovation's research to test a new fluorescent agent in neurosurgical procedures, according to The Dartmouth. The center is a part of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, located in Lebanon, N.H.
Here are six observations:
1. Keith Paulsen, PhD, a biomedical engineering professor, and David Roberts, MD, a neurosurgery professor, will head the research. Dr. Roberts will serve as the study's primary clinical investigator.
2. The fluorescent agent is called ABY-029, and it binds to epithelial growth receptors in tumor tissue.
3. During neurosurgery, surgeons will light up the fluorescent agent, which reveals healthy versus cancerous tissue.
4. The study will test the agent as a diagnostic tool as opposed to a therapy.
5. The researchers will test the agent in humans, enrolling one subject per month for the next year. Participating patients will have malignant gliomas, tumors in the brain or spinal cord.
6. Dartmouth College, the Thayer School of Engineering and the Geisel School of Medicine, all based in Hanover, N.H., will collaborate with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on the study.