Fundamental goals of surgery are functional preservation and minimizing patient morbidity. Current nerve identification during surgery utilizes non-quantifiable criteria such as anatomy, texture, color, and relationship to surrounding structures to distinguish nerves from non-nerve tissues. In instances of trauma, tumor invasion or infection, nerve identification using the above criteria can be especially challenging. Using white light reflectance, which is the standard mode of illumination in operating rooms, the visual difference between small nerves, such as distal branches of the facial nerve important during surgery for salivary gland neoplasms, or cavernosal nerves important during radical prostatectomy, and adjacent tissue can be imperceptible. In this proposal, we aim to initiate commercialization of Human Nerve Targeting Peptide HNP-401-DC, a peptide dye conjugate identified to have high human nerve labeling in human tissue that highlights motor, sensory and autonomic nerve in animal models. HNP-401-DC should enable intraoperatively nerve highlighting in patients undergoing cancer resection or other surgeries thereby improving the surgeon?s ability to visualize nerves which will minimize inadvertent nerve injury.
There is an unmet need to improve the intraoperative visualization of nerves to preserve nerve function and minimize patient morbidity following surgery. In this proposal, we aim to initiate commercialization of HNP-401- DC, a peptide dye conjugate that we identified to have high human nerve labeling and highlights motor, sensory and autonomic nerves. Guided surgery with a fluorescent dye conjugate of HNP-401-DC should enable intraoperatively nerve highlighting in patients undergoing cancer resection or other surgery thereby improving the surgeon?s ability to visualize nerves minimizing inadvertent nerve injury and patient morbidity.
