RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Preclinical Evaluation of Robotic-Assisted Sentinel Lymph Node Fluorescence Imaging JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 1552 OP 1556 DO 10.2967/jnumed.114.140871 VO 55 IS 9 A1 Michael A. Liss A1 Salman Farshchi-Heydari A1 Zhengtao Qin A1 Sean A. Hickey A1 David J. Hall A1 Christopher J. Kane A1 David R. Vera YR 2014 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/55/9/1552.abstract AB An ideal substance to provide convenient and accurate targeting for sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping during robotic-assisted surgery has yet to be found. We used an animal model to determine the ability of the FireFly camera system to detect fluorescent SLNs after administration of a dual-labeled molecular imaging agent. Methods: We injected the footpads of New Zealand White rabbits with 1.7 or 8.4 nmol of tilmanocept labeled with 99mTc and a near-infrared fluorophore, IRDye800CW. One and 36 h after injection, popliteal lymph nodes, representing the SLNs, were dissected with the assistance of the FireFly camera system, a fluorescence-capable endoscopic imaging system. After excision of the paraaortic lymph nodes, which represented non-SLNs, we assayed all lymph nodes for radioactivity and fluorescence intensity. Results: Fluorescence within all popliteal lymph nodes was easily detected by the FireFly camera system. Fluorescence within the lymph channel could be imaged during the 1-h studies. When compared with the paraaortic lymph nodes, the popliteal lymph nodes retain greater than 95% of the radioactivity at both 1 and 36 h after injection. At both doses (1.7 and 8.4 nmol), the popliteal nodes had higher (P < 0.050) optical fluorescence intensity than the paraaortic nodes at the 1- and 36-h time points. Conclusion: The FireFly camera system can easily detect tilmanocept labeled with a near-infrared fluorophore at least 36 h after administration. This ability will permit image acquisition and subsequent verification of fluorescence-labeled SLNs during robotic-assisted surgery.