Image: X-ray image of a blood vessel with a catheter and a balloon; Copyright: PantherMedia/pitchayanank.hotmail.com

Topic of the Month August 2021

A look into the cardiovascular system: Possibilities of medical imaging

A high degree of precision is required for operations involving the cardiovascular system. This is based on medical imaging. In practice, however, these still face a number of challenges that can impair image quality. The further development of imaging techniques represents a forward-looking field of research in order to be able to improve surgical treatment in the future. Read more about this in the Topic of the Month.

Medical imaging: obtaining an accurate view of blood vessels for surgery

Image: A surgeon points at a screen that shows a roughly round shape; Copyright: PantherMedia/pitchayanank.hotmail.com

Surgical intervention is often inevitable when blood vessels become narrowed, blocked, or damaged. Surgeons use stents and medical balloons to open and widen the arteries, suck out the obstructing clots and use a catheter to examine the vessels. Intraoperative cardiovascular imaging is an essential tool to guide the catheters and instruments during the minimally invasive procedures.

Read the article about intraoperative, cardiovascular imaging here

Bringing stents precisely to their destination with cardiac catheter robots

Image: a cardiac catheter robot in an OR; Copyright: Universitätsklinikum Freiburg 2021

Robots in the operating theatre are no longer a rarity in certain medical fields - they support and relieve doctors and sometimes they can make operations more efficient and easier with artificial intelligence (AI). However, they are rarely found in the operating theatre during cardiological interventions.

Read the interview with Prof. Constantin von zur Mühlen here

The Power of Multi-Color Real-Time Technology: SWIR Imaging Helps Visualize Blood Vessels

Image: Blood vessels and nerve tracts of a mouse; Copyright: Helmholtz Zentrum München

Image-guided surgery is based on medical imaging. However, past imaging technologies performed while the patient is awake cannot deliver a complete view that facilitates a visual differentiation of structures such as blood vessels and nerve tracts. In a study, scientists developed a non-invasive imaging modality that enables multiplexing, deep tissue penetration, and real-time resolution.

Read the interview with Dr. Oliver Bruns here

Video

Machine Vision – The new navigation for spine surgery

Precise, extremely quick and accurate – a new kind of navigation device in the OR uses a highly-developed camera technology to guide the surgeon through difficult procedures – directly in the OR. Prof. Ulf Liljenqvist, Chief Medical Director of the Clinic for Spinal Surgery at the St. Franziskus Hospital Münster, talks about his experiences in using the device.