A urological imaging system from Novadaq Technologies Inc. was used by researchers from the University of Rochester who submitted a paper on their findings at the 24th World Congress of Endourology, held from August 17 to 20 in Cleveland, Ohio. The submission – Intraoperative Visualization of Cavernous Nerves Using Near Infrared Fluorescence (NIRF) of Indocyanine Green (ICG) in the Rat – won for Best Scientific Paper at the conference.
   
Novadaq’s LUNA System for the visualization of nerve and lymphatic systems in urological procedures was the system used for the study.
   
The award winning virtual poster presented research on the use of injections of a fluorescent dye, ICG, to visualize prostatic neurovascular bundles during surgery. The research examined whether intra-operative identification would help surgeons spare cavernous nerves during radical prostate surgery and identify the cavernous nerve for nerve grafting. Nerves were identified intra-operatively at 6, 8, 12, 18, 24 and 36 hours following ICG injection. The conclusion was that ICG and its visualization using NIRF may facilitate the intra-operative identification of cavernous nerves during radical prostatectomy in order to reduce the incidence of postoperative erectile dysfunction.