A recent study by Marrimuthoo Pillay and colleagues from the Departments of Clinical Physics and Nuclear Medicine at Amphia Hospital in Breda, Netherlands, evaluated the performance of the Anzai gamma imaging probe – a hand-held gamma camera also known as eZ-Scope – during sentinel node biopsy. The results of the study were presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 50th Annual Meeting.
Breast cancer patients were injected with the radiopharmaceutical tracer Tc-99m in order to identify the sentinel nodes for removal. The study tested eZ-Scope alongside the most widely used gamma probe for sensitivity, handling, and spatial resolution. The study found that eZ-Scope allowed doctors to identify the radioactive nodes more accurately in less time. However, Pillay and colleagues recommended that eZ-Scope be used in conjunction with a normal gamma probe until doctors gain more experience with this powerful new technology.