Application of a Self-developed, Low-budget Indocyanine Green Camera in Surgical Imaging – a Single Institution’s Experiences

Introduction: Indocyanine green is a fluorescent dye, the use of which is becoming more and more widespread in different areas of surgery. Several international studies deal with the dye’s usefulness in intraoperative angiography, the localization of tumors, the more precise identification of anatomical structures, the detection of lymph nodes and lymph ducts, etc. The application of the dye is safe, but a suitable equipment park is required for its use, which entails relatively high costs. Objectives: The aim of our research is to create a detector system on a low budget, to be used safely in everyday practice and to illustrate its operation with practical examples at our own institute. Methods: By modifying a web camera, using filter lenses and special LEDs, we created a device suitable for exciting and detecting indocyanine green fluorescence. We prove its excellent versatility during the following procedures at our institute: breast tumor surgery, kidney transplantation, bowel resection, parathyroid surgery and liver tumor resection. Results: The finished camera has an LED light source with a peak wavelength of 780 nm, and the incoming light is filtered by a bandpass filter with a center wavelength of 832 nm. A low budget ($112), easy-to-use tool was created, which is suitable for taking advantage of the opportunities provided by indocyanine green.