Cellvizio optical biopsy validated for robot-assisted prostatectomy

The Cellvizio system from Mauna Kea Technologies of Paris has been used for the first time for endomicroscopy in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures. Results were demonstrated in a poster presentation in October at the World Congress of Endourology, where the procedure was also named Best New Innovation. Dr. Joseph C. Liao, associate professor of urology at Stanford University, conducted the feasibility study and found that using endomicroscopy with Cellvizio provides real-time imaging of prostate and surrounding tissues during RARP procedures using the da Vinci Surgical System.

Intraoperative probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE), also known as optical biopsy, was successfully performed in eight patients with no related complications. Optical biopsy with Cellvizio was shown to enable stable microscopic visualization of a range of important surgical and oncologic landmarks including neurovascular bundles, which could help surgeons identify optimal nerve-sparing techniques for RARP.