Precision Surgical Intervention

Non-contact ultrasound / photoacoustic imaging system for surgical guidance

Principal Researcher · ARPA-H Precision Surgical Intervention program ($20.9M)

Intraoperative imaging still relies on contact probes that interrupt surgical flow — and surgeons have no reliable way to confirm, during the operation, that all cancerous tissue has been removed. In this program I develop non-contact ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging that scans the surgical field from a distance in real time, fusing ultrasound, photoacoustic, and fluorescence contrast in a single camera-like system that leaves the workflow untouched.

Recent results include photoacoustic inspection of the tumor bed to check for residual cancer after resection, and a tool-tip tissue-awareness beacon (T3A) — a non-contact photoacoustic safety signal that keeps surgical instruments aware of the tissue around them.

Key publications