Molecular dyes used for surgical specimen margin orientation allow for intraoperative optical assessment during breast conserving surgery.

A variety of optical techniques utilizing near-infrared (NIR) light are being proposed for intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment. However, immediately following a lumpectomy excision, the margins are inked, which preserves the orientation of the specimen but prevents optical interrogation of the tissue margins. Here, a workflow is proposed that allows for both NIR optical assessment following full specimen marking using molecular dyes which have negligible absorption and scattering in the NIR. The effect of standard surgical inks in contrast to molecular dyes for an NIR signal is shown. Further, the proposed workflow is demonstrated with full specimen intraoperative imaging on all margins directly after the lumpectomy has been excised and completely marked. This work is an important step in the path to clinical feasibility of intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment using NIR optical methods without having to compromise on the current clinical practice of inking resected specimens for margin orientation.