Results of optical Monte Carlo simulations of a compact γ camera for the detection of sentinel lymph nodes

Breast cancer is most often treatable when detected in the early stages, before the primary disease spreads to sentinel lymph nodes in the axilla and supraclavicular region. A sentinel lymph node is the closest adjacent lymph node to receive lymphatic drainage from a primary breast tumour. It is from these nodes that cancer cells metastasise throughout the lymphatic system, spreading the disease. This work details the optical Monte Carlo modelling of an ultra compact, nuclear medicine γ camera that will be used intra-operatively to detect malignant sentinel lymph nodes. This development will improve the identification and localisation of these sentinel nodes, thereby facilitating improved techniques for axillary lymph node dissection, and sentinel lymph node biopsy.