During the procedures, iMRI scans were obtained within 15 minutes after drug delivery. "The iMRI provided enhanced visualization of the tumor and the space around the eye using gadolinium as an indirect marker," said Dr. Bulsara.

In the first case, after each of three treatments - spaced four to six weeks apart - imaging showed significant tumor reduction in the child's eye until it was all gone with no major systemic side effects observed. "So far there hasn't been a need to adjust the delivery method because we haven't seen evidence of the therapy going elsewhere," Bulsara said.


Patients selected for this method, he noted, undergo an extensive evaluation by a Yale-New Haven Hospital team that includes Dr. Miguel Materin, ophthalmologist; Farzana Parshanker, oncologist; and Jeremy Asnes, pediatric cardiologist and co-surgeon.

Dr. Bulsara, one of only a select few neurosurgeons in the country that is dual fellowship trained in skull based cerebrovascular microsurgery and endovascular neurosurgery, believes that physicians are only beginning to see the potential advantages of having all these capabilities in a single room.

More about Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is a rapidly developing cancer that develops in the cells of the retina - the light detecting tissue of the eye. Affecting children up to about 30 months old, an estimated 250-300 in the US annually will develop the disease, according the American Cancer Society. Representing about 3 percent of all childhood malignancies, it is the most common inherited childhood malignancy. In the developed world, retinoblastoma has one of the best cure rates of all childhood cancers (95-98%), with more than nine out of every ten sufferers surviving into adulthood. The first sign of retinoblastoma is usually a white reflex in the eye, often called a cat's eye appearance, in which a white-yellow tumor mass is seen through the pupil.

.About IMRIS

IMRIS (NASDAQ: IMRS; TSX: IM) is a global leader in providing image guided therapy solutions through its VISIUS Surgical Theatre - a revolutionary, multifunctional surgical environment that provides unmatched intraoperative vision to clinicians to assist in decision making and enhance precision in treatment. VISIUS Surgical Theatres serve the neurosurgical, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular markets and have been selected by leading medical institutions around the world.

[The VISIUS Surgical Theatre at Yale-New Haven Hospital features a high-field intraoperative MRI that moves between three rooms for diagnostic and surgical usage. The third room also has a biplane angiography for neurosurgical, endovascular and microsurgical operating capabilities. (CNW Group/IMRIS Inc.)]

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