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The C-Trak surgical guidance system, manufactured by Care
Wise Medical Products Inc./USA, consists of the automatic
analyser and the probe, a stainless steel tube shielded with
tungsten with an angled tip for better manoeuvrability. The
easy operation of the analyser is supported by a choice of
menus which appear on the LCD display.
The tip of the probe contains a Cs crystal capable of detecting
gamma ray emissions. The system is designed to detect small
sites of radioisotope uptake in the high scatter, highly variable
background environments found with imaging radiolabels such
as Technetium-99m and Indium-111.
The analyser shows counts using a digital readout, an analogue
meter, and an audiotory signal. The frequency of the patented
auditory signal is directly proportional to the level of radioactivity
detected.
Patented, snap-on collimators vary the probe's field of view
from wide (for surveying) to narrow (for probe-guided resection),
and can be matched to suit tissue/background levels. The use
of the tungsten shielding plate, in combination with the collimators,
allows the surgeon to reduce radiation from outside the selected
field of view.
For quality assurance, the system includes a radioactive check
source containing the radionuclide Co-57. The activity of
185kBq is below the exemption limit.
Application:
The system has been designed to be used by a surgeon to
detect tissues which contain a radioisotope label. The heart
of the system is a small, hand-held gamma detector (probe),
which is specifically developed for use in surgery.
With this probe, the surgeon can also determine whether surgically
removed tissue contains radioactive material and, by repeated
assay, can determine whether all radioisotope-containing material
has been removed from the operative site.
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