Neurosurgeons at North Shore University Hospital www.northwell.edu (NSUH) are using Toronto based Synaptive Medical’s fully automated robotic digital microscope to perform brain surgery. The device Modus V™ with its robotic arm is derived from Canadian technology and is used on the International Space Station where the robot arm is used to deploy, capture, and repair satellites in space.
According to Michael Schulder MD, Director, for the Brain Tumor Center at Northwell Health’s Neuroscience Institute, and leader of the Synaptive Technology Project at NSUH, “Surgeons are using Modus V to perform delicate brain surgery with much more precision to potentially allow for less invasive procedures that will lead to quicker recovery times and reduced complications.”
The project enables the use of a digital microscope’s high definition images which offers a wider view of the surgical field along with more enhanced images. The digital microscope uses automated robotics, hands-free positioning, plus instrumentation so the surgeon can achieve desired visualization angles without disrupting the workflow.
The device’s novel version of auto focus enables the image to stay focused on the tip of the surgeon’s instrumentation and then is able to refocus as the surgeon works in different areas of the anatomy.
In conjunction with the digital microscope, the company’s “Bright Matter” software platform displays automated whole brain tractography which is able to map out the patient’s fiber tracts in the brain using an MRI.