Synaptive Medical out of Toronto, Canada won FDA clearance for its BrightMatter Guide neurosurgical navigation system. The product allows for intuitive integration of pre-op brain imaging scans with the surgical tools being used to access remote regions of the organ. The BrightMatter Guide system uses diffusion tensor imaging data, which provides a detailed look at the brain’s internal structure, to allow surgeons to navigate their tools while avoiding unnecessary damage to connected structures on the way.

The system works thanks to 3D cameras that know the exact location and orientation of the tools being used. It overlays the location of the tools over the 3D visualizations of the brain and uses the BrightMatter Plan system to develop a path for the instruments to take.

When BrightMatter Guide is interfaced with Synaptive’s BrightMatter Vision and BrightMatter Drive technologies, it forms a compelling solution in the operating room called Servo. Servo mounts a powerful optics platform onto an automated positioning system for use with BrightMatter Guide. These technologies – Guide, Vision, and Drive are designed to work in concert to allow a surgeon far greater flexibility in both the navigation and execution of a complex surgery.

Specifically, the BrightMatter Servo solution allows a surgeon to:

-Automatically track surgical tools with Drive, using a robotic arm to keep optics and light externally aimed where they are most needed.
-Replace cumbersome optics with Vision for a collaborative and accessible surgical field with great resolution and a high depth of field.
-Evaluate a surgical plan in the operating room with Guide; 3D tractography and other advanced visualizations that are available for navigation using a surgical trajectory.

Source:Synaptive Medical