Philips provides hybrid operating room (hybrid OR) solutions to facilitate both surgical and minimally-invasive endovascular procedures, with reportedly over 750 hybrid ORs installed globally. According to the company, the addition of this new augmented reality technology will further widen the scope of its hybrid OR solutions to other fast-growing areas of image-guided surgery including spine, cranial and trauma procedures.
“This unique augmented-reality technology is an example of how we expand our capabilities with innovative solutions in growth areas such as spine, neuro and trauma surgery,” said Ronald Tabaksblat, Business Leader, Image-Guided Therapy Systems, Philips.
“By teaming up with clinical innovation leaders, we continue to find ways to convert open surgery to minimally-invasive treatment to reduce post-operative pain and expedite recovery,” he added.
The new augmented-reality surgical navigation technology aims to add additional capabilities to the company’s low-dose X-ray system. The technology uses high-resolution optical cameras mounted on the flat panel X-ray detector to image the surface of the patient. It then combines the external view captured by the cameras and the internal 3D view of the patient acquired by the X-ray system to construct a 3D augmented reality view of the patient’s external and internal anatomy.
This real-time 3D view of the patient’s spine in relation to the incision sites in the skin aims to improve procedure planning, surgical tool navigation and implant accuracy, as well as reducing procedure times.
As part of a joint clinical research program, Philips hybrid ORs with this new capability will be installed in a network of ten clinical collaborators to advance the technology.
 solutions to facilitate both surgical and minimally-invasive endovascular procedures){kind=link}