Surgery Archives

Brainlab Curve Command and Control Center for Image-Guided Surgery

by Wouter Stomp on Oct 6, 2011 •

g12t5a6p Brainlab Curve Command and Control Center for Image Guided SurgeryBrainlab has launched the Curve, a command and control center for image-guided surgery. The device uses dual tracking cameras and two 27-inch touch screen “beyond HD” (1900×1200 pixels) displays to navigate and track surgical instruments and overlay their position on previously acquired CT or MRI data. In addition it features the latest Brainlab image guidance software with advanced 3D capabilities and proprietary image enrichment, which promises to bring ultra-fast image updating when tracking instruments during surgery.

However, perhaps the best reason to buy this device is that it doubles as an iPod dock, probably making it one of the most expensive that you will be able to find.

Additional new features, from the press release:

• Dual-option, beyond HD provide more space to display and efficiently organize information.
• Cameras with motorized adjustment, telescopic stand, laser pointer for unbelievable setup flexibility.
• Extended camera tracking volume multiplies setup options without compromising patient registration.
• Digital, hi-fidelity music dock for an unexpected listening experience.
• Human-factor design hub connects Curve to the outside world and rapidly integrates third party surgical devices.
• Eight multi-directional power wheels that push cables away helps rapidly maneuver Curve in and out of the OR.
Centralized ‘Home’ and ‘Start’ screens with drag-and-drop functionality, makes launching software applications and displaying contents streamlined and easy.

Curve also brings surgeons closer to colleagues, both near and far. Mobile, wireless networking lets users stream and record then push to linked workstations. Colleagues can watch, in digital HD, the live navigation stream and streaming video from integrated sources like scopes and intra-operative imaging platforms through the hospital’s ‘Brainlab OR web portal.’
Multiple data ports in the easy to access hub allow surgeons to seamlessly connect to intra-operative imaging and surgical scopes, session-share by connecting with a Digital LightBox, stream to a remote workstation, transfer patient data via PACS, and upload and share in the cloud with Quentry.

The Curve will be available first in the EU and Switzerland, FDA and Canadian clearances are pending.

Link to promo video of the Curve…

Press release: Brainlab Launches Newest Innovation in Image-Guided Surgery Technology…

Product page: Brainlab Curve…

Cardiac Surgery / Surgery / Thoracic Surgery / Vascular Surgery

LeGoo, an Innovative Gel That Stops Blood Flow During Vascular Surgery, Gains FDA Approval

by Shiv Gaglani on Oct 5, 2011
LeGoo, an Innovative Gel That Stops Blood Flow During Vascular Surgery, Gains FDA Approval

One of the holy grails of surgery is to “get in and get out” with minimal blood loss. This is especially difficult to do in the case of vascular surgery, which often requires re-anastomosing two or more blood vessels together (e.g. in order to create a bypass or transplant an organ). Blood loss is not only detrimental to the patient, but also obscures the surgical  field – which actually can also be bad for the patient. Hence, surgeons currently use clamps and elastic loops to block blood flow through the vessel they are working on.  However, these tools can often themselves damage weak blood vessels due to their clamping pressure.

A solution in the form of a gel polymer has just been approved by the FDA. Developed by PluroMed Inc., LeGoo is a thermosensitive, reversible polymer that is liquid at room temperatures and solid at higher temperatures. (Wait, isn’t that contrary to everything you learned about phase transitions in high school? Fortunately emerging medical technologies often supersede the rules taught in intro science classes!).

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in the news... / Neurological Surgery / Neurology / Rehab / Surgery

FDA Grants Humanitarian Device Exemption to Synapse Biomedical’s NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System for Treatment of ALS

by Smit Shah on Sep 29, 2011
FDA Grants Humanitarian Device Exemption to Synapse Biomedical’s NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System for Treatment of ALS

Synapse Biomedical has been granted FDA approval to market its NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System (DPS) for the treatment of ALS.

The device, which was granted a Humanitarian Use Device designation last year, can help ALS patients who are experiencing respiratory problems and whose phrenic nerve to the diaphragm is still intact. Following implantation, the NeuRx DPS stimulates the diaphragm to help patients breathe without a ventilator.

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Anesthesiology / Cardiac Surgery / Critical Care / Medicine / Surgery

CIRCA Esophageal Temperature Monitoring System Approved in US

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 28, 2011
CIRCA Esophageal Temperature Monitoring System Approved in US

CIRCA Scientific, a Park City, Utah company, received FDA clearance for its CIRCA S-CATH and CIRCA Temperature Monitoring System that together provide real time temperature monitoring from the esophagus.

The S-CATH features 12 thermometers that report their readings 20 times a second, and the catheter itself has a two-plane sinusoidal shape to cover a wide area of the esophagus. The CIRCA Temperature Monitoring System displays continuous readings, provides range alarms, and highlights the temperature of the hottest of the sensors.

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Anesthesiology / Cardiology / Critical Care / Emergency Medicine / Medicine / Surgery

Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter Unveiled

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 28, 2011
Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter Unveiled

Nonin has released a new professional pulse oximeter, the Onyx Vantage 9590.

The device features 6,000 spot checks to precisely measure SpO2 and heart rate even in patients with low perfusion.

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Ob/Gyn / Surgery / Thoracic Surgery / Urology

Ethicon Launches First Powered Echelon Flex Stapler

by Smit Shah on Sep 28, 2011
Ethicon Launches First Powered Echelon Flex Stapler

Ethicon Endo-Surgery has announced the launch of the first powered stapler in its Echelon Flex line. Like the manual (non-motorized) Echelon Flex staplers, the new Powered Echelon Flex Stapler can apply compression to the targeted tissue before stapling to provide more consistent thickness.

Ethicon Endo-Surgery claims that its new powered stapler results in a significant reduction of tip movement during cutting and stapling, which reduces the risk of trauma to surrounding tissue.

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Anesthesiology / Critical Care / Medicine / Pediatrics / Surgery

Engineers Use Wireless Network to Monitor Breathing

by Scott Jung on Sep 20, 2011
Engineers Use Wireless Network to Monitor Breathing

A couple years ago, a team of researchers from the University of Utah managed to create a wireless network made from standard home automation devices to “see” through walls.

Now, the engineers are using the same technology to monitor breathing in patients with sleep apnea,  post surgery, and babies at risk for SIDS. The system consists of a network of 20 off-the-shelf wireless transceivers placed on the edge of a bed, which allows for a total of 380 individual measurements. The transceivers send radio waves across the bed, crisscrossing and intersecting each other at various points on a patient laying on the bed. Chest and abdomen motion impedes the crisscrossing signals, which can be detected and translated into a breathing rate. Measurements were shown to be accurate to two-fifths of a breath per minute and the wireless system performed just as well as measuring the breathing rate with a carbon dioxide monitor connected to a patient with tubes.

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Medicine / Radiology / Surgery

GE Unveils Senocase Mobile Mammography Concept as Part of Wider Cancer Commitment

by Gavin Corley on Sep 16, 2011
GE Unveils Senocase Mobile Mammography Concept as Part of Wider Cancer Commitment

Yesterday in New York City GE Healthcare unveiled a new $1 billion initiative to fund innovative cancer research in a variety of cancer fields.  The initial focus is on breast cancer thanks to $100 million, raised with help from a few venture capital funds, that will fund an open innovation challenge that seeks to identify promising new approaches to improve breast cancer diagnostics.

Additionaly, GE unveiled an impressive portable mammography concept as part of a portfolio of integrated technologies aimed at combating cancer. The SenoCase is mobile mammography system which can be folded and easily stored in a car boot.  According to GE, such portability could remove geographical barriers to regular breast screening for many women on a global scale. The system could also be more cost effective than conventional mammography systems, making it more accessible to smaller practices and clinics.

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Radiology / Surgery

Naviscan Positron Emission Mammography Scanner Gets CE Mark

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 13, 2011
Naviscan Positron Emission Mammography Scanner Gets CE Mark

San Diego-based Naviscan won European clearance to bring to market its high resolution (1.6 mm) PET scanner and the matching PET-guided biopsy accessory. The scanner is predominantly to be used for mammography and guided breast biopsies.

The Naviscan high-resolution PET scanner is an optimized PET scanner designed to provide unprecedented metabolic visualization of small body parts. Through a unique combination of gentle immobilization, advanced photonics and image processing, this scanner provides tomographic images with resolution down to 1.6 mm. While the PEM scanner can image virtually any body part that can fit into the gantry, clinicians most often use it as an adjunct to conventional imaging to detect, stage, and manage breast cancer.

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