Philips, BrainLAB team for intra-operative angiography, IGS technologies

Royal Philips Electronics and BrainLAB are collaborating on the integration of intra-operative angiography and image-guided surgery (IGS) to drive the compatibility of the technologies in the operating room environment.

The integration of angiography and IGS would provide surgeons with real-time information during interventions that may lead to more precise surgical procedures, according to the Chicago-based BrainLAB and Philips.

The companies said image-guided, intra-operative angiography can enhance both neurosurgery and spinal surgery, and will extend the application range of cardiovascular surgery.

As part of the collaboration, BrainLAB said it will develop interfaces between Philips' angiographic imaging systems and its BrainLAB VectorVision system for the automatic registration of intra-operatively acquired angiographic data. The companies said that the integration will allow surgeons to upload datasets into the IGS system without the need for additional manual steps. During surgery, the position of the patient and surgical instruments are tracked in real time through BrainLAB software.