AI Enters the OR: A New Era for Breast Cancer Surgery Begins in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – August 13, 2026 – In the sterile, high-stakes environment of an operating room, surgeons have long relied on their eyes, their hands, and their experience. Today, a new tool has joined their arsenal, one that promises to see what the human eye cannot. Intermountain Health, the largest nonprofit health system in the Mountain West, has officially become the first in the nation to commercially deploy an AI-powered imaging system in the fight against breast cancer, marking a pivotal moment where artificial intelligence moves from theoretical promise to clinical practice.

The technology, named the Claire™ OCT System, was developed by Perimeter Medical Imaging AI. It is the only device of its kind approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give surgeons real-time, microscopic views of tissue margins during breast-conserving surgery, also known as a lumpectomy. The goal is to solve one of the most persistent and heartbreaking challenges in cancer treatment: the need for a second surgery.

The High Cost of a Second Cut

For the nearly 20% of breast cancer patients who undergo a lumpectomy, the initial procedure is not the end of their surgical journey. According to a 2024 study in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, about one in five of these patients must return to the operating room because microscopic cancer cells were left behind at the edge of the excised tissue—what surgeons call a “positive margin.”

This second procedure, or re-excision, carries a heavy burden that extends far beyond the hospital walls. For the patient, it means a repeat of the physical trauma, a higher risk of complications, and a prolonged, agonizing period of anxiety while waiting for pathology results. The emotional toll of being told, “we didn’t get it all,” can be devastating, undermining a patient's confidence and well-being at a time when they are already at their most vulnerable.

For the healthcare system, the economic impact is staggering. Repeat surgeries are associated with a 24% increase in costs, with some analyses showing an average added expense of over $16,000 for a second operation. These procedures strain hospital resources, occupying valuable operating room time and contributing to surgical backlogs. It’s a systemic inefficiency that costs hundreds of millions of dollars annually and, until now, has been accepted as an unfortunate but unavoidable part of cancer care.

A New Set of Eyes in the Operating Room

The Claire system is designed to break this cycle. It combines two powerful technologies: optical coherence tomography (OCT), a light-based imaging method that provides cellular-level detail up to 2mm beneath the tissue surface, and a sophisticated AI algorithm. During surgery, once the surgeon removes the tumor, the tissue is placed in the Claire device. Within minutes, the system generates ultra-high-resolution images, and the AI gets to work, sifting through a massive amount of data to flag suspicious areas that might contain residual cancer.

Dr. Teresa Reading, a breast surgeon at Intermountain Health LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, was among the first to use the system in a commercial setting. "Every breast surgeon wants to give their patient the best possible chance of completing treatment in a single surgery, but microscopic cancer can be difficult to identify in the operating room," she said. "Claire was incredibly simple to incorporate into my workflow. The AI quickly directed my attention to specific areas of concern, giving me an additional set of trained eyes and more information to guide my decisions during these procedures."

This real-time feedback loop is the game-changer. Instead of waiting days for a pathologist to analyze the tissue, the surgeon receives actionable intelligence while the patient is still on the operating table. If the AI flags a potential positive margin, the surgeon can immediately remove more tissue from that specific area, dramatically increasing the odds of a clean margin in a single operation.

From Clinical Trial to Commercial Reality

The journey for Perimeter, a medical technology company with operations in Toronto and Dallas, has been a multi-year marathon of research, development, and rigorous validation. The Claire system’s path to the operating room was paved by a Breakthrough Device designation from the FDA in 2021, which fast-tracked its review, and culminated in a full Premarket Approval (PMA) in March 2026.

The pivotal CLAIRE trial underpinning that approval demonstrated the system's power, showing a statistically significant reduction in patients with residual cancer post-surgery. The results were so strong they met a "super-superiority" threshold, indicating a clear and meaningful clinical benefit.

"The first deployment of Claire is a defining moment for Perimeter and for the use of AI in cancer surgery as a whole," said Adrian Mendes, CEO of Perimeter Medical Imaging AI. "For the first time, a U.S. health system is commercially deploying FDA-approved, AI-enabled imaging inside the operating room to help surgeons assess breast tissue while the patient is still in surgery."

A Strategic Bet on Innovation

For Intermountain Health, adopting this technology is a calculated strategic move. It aligns with the organization's focus on value-based care, where improving patient outcomes and reducing overall costs are intertwined goals. The health system's venture arm played a key role in bringing the technology on board.

"Reducing unnecessary repeat surgeries is a priority for Intermountain Health because every additional procedure places a burden on patients, families, surgeons, and the healthcare system overall," explained Phillip Wood, Executive Program Director for Intermountain Ventures. "Claire gives our surgical teams new information at the point of care, when it has the greatest potential to influence the course of treatment."

By being the first to deploy Claire, currently in use at its LDS Hospital and American Fork Hospital, Intermountain is not just acquiring a new piece of equipment; it is positioning itself at the vanguard of a new, AI-augmented approach to medicine. This move sets a precedent for how large health systems can vet, validate, and responsibly integrate cutting-edge AI to solve long-standing clinical problems.

This partnership between a pioneering health system and an innovative tech company signals a broader shift in the medical landscape. As AI becomes more sophisticated and its benefits more quantifiable, its role will expand from a diagnostic aid to an indispensable partner in treatment. The deployment of Claire is more than just a press release; it's a tangible step toward a future where technology and human expertise combine to deliver a more precise, efficient, and compassionate standard of care.