Dive Brief:
- GE HealthCare has provided an update on the integration of its bkActiv intraoperative ultrasound technology with Medtronic’s Stealth AXiS surgical navigation system.
- The integrated product is now available commercially, GE HealthCare said Thursday. Medtronic said it had integrated bkActiv into Stealth AXiS when the surgical system received regulatory clearance last month.
- Integrating the technologies gives surgeons real-time ultrasound images, helping them to assess mid-procedure anatomy changes that could affect the preoperative plan.
Dive Insight:
Medtronic received Food and Drug Administration clearance for Stealth AXiS in spine procedures in February. The next month, the FDA cleared the device for cranial and ear, nose and throat procedures.
Stealth AXiS supports preoperative planning, for example by helping surgeons generate patient-specific brain maps before cranial procedures. Partnering with GE HealthCare has enabled Medtronic to provide live images to complement the imaging and modeling carried out to inform procedure planning.
GE HealthCare named the “brain shift” phenomenon as a reason that real-time imaging is important. As cranial procedures progress, the natural movement or deformation of the brain can reduce the accuracy of images captured before the surgery started.
Through the integration with bkActiv, Stealth AXiS provides real-time intraoperative ultrasound images to help surgeons assess anatomy changes such as brain shift. Physicians view the live images alongside the preoperative MRI or CT scans. GE HealthCare said surgeons can add bkActiv for “plug-and-play” real-time visualization during procedures without disrupting established workflows.
Other bkActiv benefits include the ability for surgical staff to see the ultrasound image when the clinical display monitor is turned toward the surgeon, algorithms that support uniform image resolution and a button for freezing, storing and printing images.
The integration of bkActiv into Stealth AXiS builds on a long-standing alliance between GE HealthCare and Medtronic. In recent years, the companies have partnered to serve ambulatory surgical centers and expanded their patient monitoring alliance.
