Gallbladders are getting removed every day using laparoscopic tools, but every so often common bile ducts are accidentally damaged causing serious side effects, even resulting in liver failure or eventual liver transplant. While there are dyes and contrast agents available for an intraop cholangiography that can help visualize the relevant anatomy, they’re rarely used because they complicate and extend the cholecystectomy procedures. At Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers from the BioDesign: Medical Innovation program have been looking for a better way, which has led them to discover that bile acid absorbs light in a unique way and so can help point out bile ducts from other tissue.
The team showed that visible red light of specific wavelengths is absorbed by the acids in the biliary tree. Simply illuminating nearby tissues with light covering those wavelengths will differentiate where there’s bile acids and where there’s none, as initial animal tests have shown. The next step is to develop an actual instrument that will take advantage of these findings, perhaps coupling it with an existing minimally invasive device.
Here’s a video report with the team that’s developing the technology:
Project info page: CholeVision…
Via: Hebrew University…
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