Detection of metastatic lymph nodes with multiparametric PET/MR in head and neck imaging

Detection of lymph node involvement has a significant negative impact on the treatment outcome for patients with head and neck squamous-cell carcinomas (SCC). Metastatic lymph nodes can be detected with high sensitivity by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). However, 18F-FDG uptake is not only increased in...

Minimally Invasive Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy:: from surgery to outpatient procedure

This thesis concerns the design process of the mechanical excision mechanism of a minimally invasive sentinel lymph node biopsy medical device. The design is tested, validated and improved using force tests, data analyses, proof-of-principal tests, calculations and finite element method models. The conclusion of these analyses is that the...

Minimally Invasive Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy: Finding a less invasive alternative to an existing procedure

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a procedure that is used to determine the stage of disease of melanoma patients and determine further treatment. However, the morbidities accompanied with this procedure are not negligible (e.g., wound infection, lymphoedema and seroma). With the goal reduce the incidence of morbidities, this thesis...