Surgical Theater, LLC, has earned a patent for the Selman Surgical Rehearsal Platform, which can turn a patient’s static CT and MR images into an interactive 3D model. This new platform was launched at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2012 annual meeting, which concludes today.
The platform, developed in conjunction with Dr. Warren Selman and Harvey Huntington Brown Jr. of University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Department of Neurological Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, respectively, lets surgeons plan and rehearse surgical techniques for treating aneurysms and brain tumors. Rather than just a generic mock-up of the human brain, it creates a complete 3D model of the patient’s brain in question. This lifelike model responds to the surgeon’s actions as it would in real life, allowing for planning and rehearsal before the actual surgery.
Furthermore, participants worldwide can view the model and practice the same case, receiving feedback and collaborating in real-time. It uses flight simulator technology, allowing for multiple platforms to connect remotely.
"As a surgeon at an academic medical center, being able to collaborate with peers and guide younger surgeons through a complex neurosurgical procedure—on a model with life-like response—in advance of taking the patient to the operating room is ideal,” Doctor Selman said. “It's something that just wasn't possible until now. The ability of the Surgical Rehearsal Platform to allow collaboration and rehearsal is a tremendous advancement in neurosurgical practice and education, and I'm proud to be a part of it."
Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes, and the Selman Surgical Rehearsal Platform allows surgeons to do just that. They can practice removing brain tumors from models of the brain they’ll be operating on, down to the last nook and cranny (and brains have plenty of both), ensuring they’re prepared and ready when it’s time to operate on the real deal. This is a great advancement in medical technology, one that’s sure to give surgeons the edge to save many lives.
Edited by
Amanda Ciccatelli
