News
Up to one in five breast cancer surgeries ends in a reoperation. Ghent-based technology could change that.
Our press release was picked up by VRT NWS, Belgium's leading public broadcaster. A meaningful recognition of the work behind the BrIMA study.
Ghent, 18 June 2026 — Every day, women with breast cancer undergo surgery in the hope that the surgeon removes all cancer cells. In one in five cases, this turns out not to have been fully successful: part of the tumor remains. The result? A second operation, additional stress, additional treatment. This is still the reality for too many patients today. XEOS, a Belgian medtech company from Ghent, has developed a device AURA 10 PET-CT that helps surgeons address this problem at the moment when something can still be done about it, in the operating room, while the patient is still on the table.
1.1 WHAT GOES WRONG TODAY?
In breast-conserving surgery, the surgeon removes the tumor as precisely as possible, with as little surrounding healthy tissue as possible. But whether the surgery was successful is something nobody knows during the operation itself. The removed tissue is sent to the laboratory, and results follow days later. If cancer cells are still present at the margins, the patient must undergo another surgery.
Large prospective studies show that this is the case in 23.6% of procedures. Nearly one in four patients must therefore undergo a second operation not because the surgeon made a mistake, but simply because they could not see what they could not see.
1.2 THE AURA 10: MOLECULAR IMAGING ON THE OPERATING TABLE
The AURA 10 PET-CT from XEOS is the world’s first device to enable intraoperative molecular imaging of excised tissue inside the operating room itself, within minutes.
How does it work? Shortly before surgery, the patient receives a small amount of radioactive tracer by injection. Cancer cells absorb this tracer more strongly than healthy tissue. Once the surgeon has removed the tumor, the surgical team places it in the AURA 10. Within minutes, the device creates a three-dimensional molecular image: a detailed map showing where the tracer is located within the excised tissue. This helps the surgeon determine whether the tumor has been completely removed.
The surgeon sees the result before closing the wound. If a problem is identified, they can act immediately — without a follow-up operation, without an additional recovery period for the patient.
1.3 CLINICAL EVIDENCE: THE BRIMA STUDY
Until now, large-scale clinical evidence, of the benefits of the intraoperative PET-CT specimen imaging, has been lacking. The BrIMA study changes that. It is the first large prospective, multicenter study to scientifically evaluate the use of intraoperative PET-CT in breast-conserving surgery. The study was conducted across six European centers in 148 patients and published in JAMA Surgery, the number 1 journal in the surgical field.
The results are compelling: the proportion of procedures in which margin assessment was successfully completed in a single operation increased from 83.3% to 95.2%. This means significantly more patients can know with certainty after one surgery that the tumor has been fully removed and that the surgeon knows this before the wound is closed.
“The BrIMA results confirm that this technology can help surgeons determine during the operation whether a tumor has been completely removed. This allows corrective action to be taken while the patient is still on the operating table and reoperations can be avoided.”
— Dr. Menekse Göker, lead author of the BrIMA publication and breast surgeon, Ghent University Hospital
1.4 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PATIENTS?
A second breast surgery is far more than just a medical procedure for a patient. It means additional anxiety, additional recovery time, a delay to further treatment such as radiation or chemotherapy, and an added burden, physical and emotional. For every woman who avoids a second operation thanks to the AURA 10, this represents a significant difference in her care journey.
It also gives the surgeon something they do not have today: the ability to make an informed decision when it matters most in the operating room itself.
1.5 GROWING PRESENCE AND AMBITION
The AURA 10 PET-CT is currently installed in the United States and seven European countries, including Ghent University Hospital, AZ Maria Middelares, AZORG, UZ Brussel, and UCL Saint-Luc. The technology has been used in more than 800 procedures. With the publication of the BrIMA study, XEOS now has clinical evidence to support its implementation at broader scale.
“This is the first study to demonstrate at scale that intraoperative PET-CT significantly improves margin assessment in breast-conserving surgery. We hope these results help pave the way for broader access to this technology, so more patients can benefit from a more precise procedure.”
— Vincent Keereman, Founder and CEO of XEOS
1.6 ABOUT XEOS
XEOS is a Belgian medical technology company based in Ghent, founded in 2019. The company develops the AURA 10 PET-CT, the world’s first intraoperative specimen PET-CT system, combining molecular and anatomical imaging at the point of surgery. XEOS is certified to ISO 13485,, holds CE marking under IVDR, and has received FDA 510(k) clearance.
JAMA Surgery Publication
1.1 WHAT GOES WRONG TODAY?
In breast-conserving surgery, the surgeon removes the tumor as precisely as possible, with as little surrounding healthy tissue as possible. But whether the surgery was successful is something nobody knows during the operation itself. The removed tissue is sent to the laboratory, and results follow days later. If cancer cells are still present at the margins, the patient must undergo another surgery.
Large prospective studies show that this is the case in 23.6% of procedures. Nearly one in four patients must therefore undergo a second operation not because the surgeon made a mistake, but simply because they could not see what they could not see.
1.2 THE AURA 10: MOLECULAR IMAGING ON THE OPERATING TABLE
The AURA 10 PET-CT from XEOS is the world’s first device to enable intraoperative molecular imaging of excised tissue inside the operating room itself, within minutes.
How does it work? Shortly before surgery, the patient receives a small amount of radioactive tracer by injection. Cancer cells absorb this tracer more strongly than healthy tissue. Once the surgeon has removed the tumor, the surgical team places it in the AURA 10. Within minutes, the device creates a three-dimensional molecular image: a detailed map showing where the tracer is located within the excised tissue. This helps the surgeon determine whether the tumor has been completely removed.
The surgeon sees the result before closing the wound. If a problem is identified, they can act immediately — without a follow-up operation, without an additional recovery period for the patient.
1.3 CLINICAL EVIDENCE: THE BRIMA STUDY
Until now, large-scale clinical evidence, of the benefits of the intraoperative PET-CT specimen imaging, has been lacking. The BrIMA study changes that. It is the first large prospective, multicenter study to scientifically evaluate the use of intraoperative PET-CT in breast-conserving surgery. The study was conducted across six European centers in 148 patients and published in JAMA Surgery, the number 1 journal in the surgical field.
The results are compelling: the proportion of procedures in which margin assessment was successfully completed in a single operation increased from 83.3% to 95.2%. This means significantly more patients can know with certainty after one surgery that the tumor has been fully removed and that the surgeon knows this before the wound is closed.
“The BrIMA results confirm that this technology can help surgeons determine during the operation whether a tumor has been completely removed. This allows corrective action to be taken while the patient is still on the operating table and reoperations can be avoided.”
— Dr. Menekse Göker, lead author of the BrIMA publication and breast surgeon, Ghent University Hospital
1.4 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PATIENTS?
A second breast surgery is far more than just a medical procedure for a patient. It means additional anxiety, additional recovery time, a delay to further treatment such as radiation or chemotherapy, and an added burden, physical and emotional. For every woman who avoids a second operation thanks to the AURA 10, this represents a significant difference in her care journey.
It also gives the surgeon something they do not have today: the ability to make an informed decision when it matters most in the operating room itself.
1.5 GROWING PRESENCE AND AMBITION
The AURA 10 PET-CT is currently installed in the United States and seven European countries, including Ghent University Hospital, AZ Maria Middelares, AZORG, UZ Brussel, and UCL Saint-Luc. The technology has been used in more than 800 procedures. With the publication of the BrIMA study, XEOS now has clinical evidence to support its implementation at broader scale.
“This is the first study to demonstrate at scale that intraoperative PET-CT significantly improves margin assessment in breast-conserving surgery. We hope these results help pave the way for broader access to this technology, so more patients can benefit from a more precise procedure.”
— Vincent Keereman, Founder and CEO of XEOS
1.6 ABOUT XEOS
XEOS is a Belgian medical technology company based in Ghent, founded in 2019. The company develops the AURA 10 PET-CT, the world’s first intraoperative specimen PET-CT system, combining molecular and anatomical imaging at the point of surgery. XEOS is certified to ISO 13485,, holds CE marking under IVDR, and has received FDA 510(k) clearance.