DHMC inaugurates unique intraoperative MRI and CT suite

IMRIS Inc. announced that neurosurgeons at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, have completed several cases to inaugurate use of intraoperative MRI (iMRI) within the VISIUS® Surgical Theatre inside the hospital’s Center for Surgical Innovation (CSI). The CSI has the only operating suite in the world with both VISIUS iMRI and intraoperative CT (iCT) modalities able to serve multiple operating rooms (ORs) without moving the patient.

The initial case—a revision right craniotomy for a meningioma (brain tumor)—was also the first time VISIUS iMRI was used with next generation leading 3.0 tesla technology which includes applications to deliver better image quality with higher signal-to-noise ratio, faster 3D image acquisition, and improved ease-of-use and workflow.

“These first few cases have gone very well in terms of producing images during the cases and confirming that we have accomplished what we had intended,” said Dr. David Roberts, Dartmouth-Hitchcock neurosurgery section chief and professor of surgery and neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine, who led the first case. “We expect the iMRI inside CSI will expand our vision beyond what we can see with the naked eye to reach diseased tissue that is sometimes located within challenging to navigate anatomy,” he added. “The OR suite will have a direct value to patients by allowing us to do surgery better than before.” ...

Prof Keith Paulsen

...Dr. Roberts noted that intraoperative imaging within CSI will allow surgeons to provide better outcomes using current techniques and to work with engineers and researchers to discover and validate new surgical approaches.

Dr. Keith Paulsen, Dartmouth's Robert A. Pritzker Professor of Biomedical Engineering and scientific director of imaging at DHMC, said they hope the center will be a destination for patient care and surgical innovation. “We are looking forward to researching and implementing disruptive change rather than incremental changes to surgical procedures,” he said. “The long-term benefit to society is making surgery more effective and disseminating this out to other institutions.”