From internship project to the European market: LUMC device allows surgeons to detect tumors more precisely

The DROP-IN gamma probe technology developed at the LUMC has received CE certification. This means that hospitals throughout Europe can use the device. The probe improves the detection of tumors during operation procedures with a surgical robot. The technology is currently being commercialized by Crystal Photonics. What started off as an internship project has turned into a product that has reached the market. What did this process look like?

Matthias van Oosterom, a postdoc in the Department of Radiology, began his internship at the LUMC in 2014 with the Interventional Molecular Imaging group. His project entailed developing a device that would enable better detection of prostate tumors during image-guided surgery. “During image-guided operations, such as radio-guided surgery, patients are first administered a tracer that goes into the tumor. With a probe that detects the tracer, the surgeon know when the tracer is near the tumor, allowing the precise removal of tumor tissue”, explains Van Oosterom.