New publication by Miruna Coraci and Hugo Schouw in Nature Scientific Reports

Adequate perfusion is essential to prevent anastomotic leakage in intestinal and rectal surgeries. This study compares Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI) and Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Angiography (ICG-FA) for assessing blood flow in intestinal anastomoses during robot-assisted surgeries in pigs. Intestinal perfusion was evaluated in three pigs using LSCI and ICG-FA, before and after clamping the main arterial supply, with measurements taken across ten regions of interest (ROIs). Pearson correlation coefficients were used to compare the two techniques. ROIs were normalized for analysis to facilitate direct comparison of the perfusion patterns. The results showed a strong correlation between the maximum fluorescence intensity from ICG-FA and LSCI values after clamping (r = 0.7293), with comparable perfusion patterns observed post-unclamping. LSCI provides continuous monitoring, while ICG-FA captures contrast-enhanced snapshots, explaining weaker correlations for static values. No significant difference was found in normalized measurements between the two methods. This study supports the use of both LSCI and ICG-FA in clinical practice, highlighting their complementary roles in assessing perfusion during surgeries. Further research is needed to explore their combined utility.

Keywords: optical imaging, fluorescence-guided surgery, laser speckle contract imaging, quantitative comparison