Pilot study of intraoperative digital imaging with the use of a mammograph for assessment of bone surgical margins in the head and neck region

Assessment of the deep resection margin during oral cancer surgery: A systematic review

“…Ultrasound is promising, although standardized imaging protocols need to be developed and evaluated on well-defined patient populations [56]. Radiography might work for bone margins, but is difficult to interpret in convex structures [58,59]. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the specimen provide encouraging results, but these imaging technologies are challenging for real-time feedback on tumor margins in the operation room itself.…”

“…However, convex structures, such as the mandible are difficult to interpret on a twodimensional plane. The researchers also found a loss of accuracy when images were taken in the anterior-posterior direction, due to compact structure of the cortical bone in the mandible [58]. They encourage further studies to determine whether the technique is able to detect small bone infiltrations in the different sizes and shapes of the specimens.…”

“…Radiography on mandible specimens can be useful in evaluating the completeness of excision [58,59]. The method is cheap, easy to perform, widely available and requires 20 min.…”