Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Becomes second site in Eastern U.S. for this surgical tool

CLEVELAND -- Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology, has selected University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center as the second site east of the Mississippi for its Stealth Autoguide™ cranial robotic guidance platform for neurosurgery. 
 
The highly advanced surgical tool is intended for use in surgery for (adult and pediatric) patients suffering from a range of neurological conditions.  The first case using the system at UH was performed Nov. 10.
 
“Medtronic chose us based on our experience in precision, minimally invasive approaches to brain tumors,” said Andrew Sloan, MD, Director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center as well as the Center for Translational Neuro-Oncology at UH’s Neurological Institute and the Seidman Cancer Center.
 
Dr. Sloan cited UH’s experience with Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), an emerging technique to treat primary and metastatic brain tumors that are hard to reach with conventional surgery, and with clinical trials for glioblastoma (GBM) such as one testing the poliovirus against the deadly brain cancer.
 
With the Stealth Autoguide™, a surgeon can surgically place an electrode or catheter in the brain or perform a biopsy with the aid of a robot for precision movements while receiving continuous real-time visualization and feedback through a computer interface.
 
Benefits to the patient include that procedures can be performed without shaving the head and it does not require a large stereotactic headframe, which is necessary for certain brain procedures and surgeries.
 
“The Stealth Autoguide provides us with an important, innovative tool to use for intricate brain procedures,” said Nick Bambakidis, MD, Director of the UH Neurological Institute. “This system enables us to precisely and reproducibly target lesions deep within the brain.”
 
Ted Teknos, MD, President of UH Seidman, said, “This technology delivers on the promise that University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center will lead the region by providing leading edge surgical procedures and outstanding patient outcomes. Robotic technology has revolutionized the field of minimally invasive surgery in many parts of the human body and the central nervous system is one of the last frontiers”.
 
Stealth Autoguide™ received FDA approval in December 2019. 
 
An animation of Stealth Autoguide™ can be viewed here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saobOzcunbY&feature=youtu.be
 
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