ARPA-H
Precision Surgical Interventions (PSI) Program
AI-powered Shortwave Infrared Surgical Imaging
The Need
Important anatomical structures such as nerves, blood vessels, and lymph ducts look like the normal, surrounding tissue, and are difficult for surgeons to visualize. Avoiding damage to these critical anatomical structures is a pressing problem for all surgeries. Unintended healthy tissue damage can lead to longer hospital stays, re-operation, pain, and potential trauma for patients. Corrective procedures and post-surgical treatment have an estimated total cost of more than $1 billion per year in the US. [1]To address this problem, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has committed up to $150 million through its Precision Surgical Interventions (PSI) program to develop novel technologies that will allow surgeons to remove cancerous tumors with higher accuracy and make critical anatomy more visible to surgeons. If successful, these technologies will revolutionize surgeries, dramatically reducing rates of repeat procedures. They can also reduce instances of unintentional injury to critical structures such as nerves, blood vessels or lymph ducts. These imaging tools may also be used to improve other types of surgeries.
The Technology
Cision Vision is the only medtech company selected as a prime awardee for this round of funding. Our research team will use shortwave infrared and hyperspectral images to help surgeons visualize blood vessels, nerves, and especially lymphatic structures. Going well beyond red, green, and blue, hyperspectral imaging is enhanced by AI algorithms. This would allow the team to distinguish between tissue types without administering dyes. [2]Meet the Research Team
Co-Principal Investigator
Zhongming “Jeremy” Li, PhD
Cision Vision
“We are honored to receive this award and work with a distinguished group of researchers to drive innovations in surgical imaging.”
Co-Principal Investigator
Lisa M. Knowlton, MD, MPH
Stanford Medicine
“A real-time decision aid that provides surgeons with immediate critical structure anatomical labeling has the potential to save lives, reduce serious complications, improve surgical training and lower healthcare costs. We are honored to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of experts advancing the frontier of surgical imaging technology.”
Investigators
Angela Belcher, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Danny Chen, PhD
University of Notre Dame
Herbert Mason Hedberg, MD
Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals
Jeffrey Jopling, MD
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Monika Krezalek, MD
Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals
Arden Morris, MD, MPH
Stanford Medicine