Innovative precision medicine techniques offer great hope for improving cancer treatment. In surgical treatment of cancer patients, the key to a better quality of life after surgery is performing the most precise, organ-preserving surgery possible while ensuring that all tumor tissue is completely removed. To do this, surgeons need better ways to accurately identify and isolate the tissue to be removed.
The PRECISE project is a cross-border collaboration developing three innovative tools for the precise marking and surgical removal of tumors in the digestive tract, based on the complementary expertise of the partners.
The innovation that is important for all work packages is a near-infrared fluorescence marker that is injected into the intestinal or esophageal wall during cancer diagnosis, where it produces a precise and permanent marker. During surgery, this marker shows surgeons exactly how much tissue they need to remove in order to completely remove the tumor tissue. In combination with the innovative endoscopic microinjection needle, the marker can be injected precisely at a defined depth without risk of perforating the intestinal wall and with even more accurate localization than with conventional injection needles. Building on this, the innovative AI software can significantly increase the clinical benefit by assisting surgeons in navigating to the exact tumor area and locating the lymph nodes associated with the tumor area.
By combining the medtech expertise available in the program area with technical development and clinical studies, the PRECISE project is closely aligned with the needs of clinical users and creates the basis for a cross-border focus on precision medicine for the treatment of cancer.
