Much of what determines a safe surgical outcome — whether tissue has adequate blood supply, where lymphatic drainage leads, or whether a margin is truly clear — isn’t visible to the naked eye during conventional surgery. Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging addresses this gap, using a fluorescent dye and specialised camera system to make these hidden details visible in real time, directly informing surgical decisions as they’re being made.

ICG is injected intravenously or locally, depending on the application, and travels through blood vessels or lymphatic channels. Under near-infrared light, a fluorescence camera system visualises the dye’s distribution on-screen, allowing the surgical team to assess blood supply to tissue before a reconstruction or anastomosis, trace lymphatic drainage pathways to identify sentinel lymph nodes, or, in select applications, help delineate tumour tissue from surrounding structures. Because the dye clears quickly and has a well-established safety profile, it can be used at multiple points during a single operation as needed.

This technology is integrated across a wide range of surgical specialties — general surgical oncology, gynaecologic oncology, thoracic surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, and reconstructive surgery — with its specific application guided by the surgical team based on the operation being performed and the clinical question that needs answering.