Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CT) Guided Microcoil Localization of Pulmonary Nodules During Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery(VATS)

The Guided Therapeutics (GTx) program at the University Health Network is a network of clinicians, scientists, and engineers focused on the development and translation of image-guided technologies focused on minimally-invasive, adaptive therapies. Technologies developed within the GTx program include a portable intra-operative cone-beam CT (in collaboration with Siemens) that has been evaluated in clinical trials for head and neck surgery. The intraoperative imaging has been integrated with tracking and navigational tools and optical imaging to provide a general "surgical dashboard" that is used to improve the accuracy of surgical resection.

A recent addition to the GTx program is the development of the GTx OR, located within the general operating room of the Toronto General Hospital. The GTx OR houses 2 complimentary advance technologies: the Siemens Zeego and the Siemens Somotom Flash CT. The dual-energy Somatom Flash provides a "gold-standard" in CT imaging, while the Zeego provides excellent 3D Cone-beam CT with robotic placement for flexible integration within the operating environment. Together, the integration of these 2 components into a single OR enables critical evaluation of the limits of CT imaging technology for surgical guidance.

This study will be conducted using solely the Cone-beam CT (Zeego) for percutaneous placement and localization of markers for resection of small pulmonary nodules during VATS.