Less radioactivity due to new RF method

Many breast tumours are not clearly noticeable for surgeons. However, he must be able to determine the position of the tumour to remove it when performing a breast-conserving surgery. The old method commonly uses metal wire or a radioactive iodine source to mark tumours in the breast. The new RF method uses a chip that emits radio frequency signals. It is inserted at the site of the tumour by a radiologist, using ultrasound. The surgeon can then look for these signals with a detector so that it is clearly visible where he or she has to operate.

Surgeon Anneriet Dassen and radiologist Margreet van der Schaaf are enthusiastic about this way of locating tumours. “This means that we no longer have to perform the localisation and the surgery on one day and that patients in our hospital will no longer have a wire put in their breast. It is a lot calmer and more patient-friendly. It is already very intense when you are told that you have breast cancer. We do everything we can to guide the patient as well as possible in this”, says Dassen. “No radioactive radiation is released either, with this new method, and the placement of the RF marker can be planned a lot better with the patient”, adds van der Schaaf.

This method is not only advantageous to the patient; it is also attractive to the hospital. This method does not require regulation of the Nuclear Energy Act because no radioactivity is involved. This saves a lot of time and logistic organisation, and that ultimately results in cost savings.