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LHSC first North American hospital to have robotic-arm neuro-angiogram machine in OR suite

Dr. Steve Lownie

Dr. Steve Lownie, Neurosurgeon and Co-chair, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), clearly recalls cases in which patients, after having undergone delicate brain surgery, had to be moved to another part of the hospital for an angiogram, followed by a wait for the x-ray images crucial to determining the patient’s condition and outcome.

Several years back, one case in particular, that of a 40 year-old woman who suffered a stroke after her surgery, led Dr. Lownie, a student of pioneering brain surgeon Charles Drake, to believe that the ability to perform angiograms during surgery would greatly benefit patient care and outcomes.

“For that particular patient, four hours passed between her awakening from surgery, showing early signs of a stroke, moving her to the angiogram suite, obtaining her x-rays and taking her back into surgery,” says Lownie. “I knew there had to be a better and more efficient way to do an angiogram during surgery, to ensure that everything was in place for optimal patient recovery.”

Through the acquisition of a robotic-arm neuro-angiogram machine in the operating room, a decade-long vision is now a reality for Dr. Lownie, as LHSC became the first hospital in North America to have a floor-mounted neuro-angiogram machine designed to take images during surgery. The Zeego is manufactured by Siemens.

Says Lownie, “By generating 3D images during surgery, the intra-operative neuro-angiogram machine helps patients experience a safer and more seamless surgery resulting in less trauma and shorter recovery time.”

The Zeego, made possible by donors through the London Health Sciences Foundation, will allow surgeons to accelerate treatment decisions while in the OR suite, as patients will no longer have to be moved to another hospital area for a neuro-angiogram since imaging that would have previously been taken after surgery can now be done during surgery. The 3D imaging and robotic-arm allow the Zeego to be spun around, to provide numerous angles by which to take and view an x-ray. The robotic-arm also extends out of the operating field, when not needed, and can be brought back into the operating field when images are necessary.

The Zeego machine has been in use at LHSC since January 2009 and has been used on several patients to confirm the success of surgery. Patient care and recovery have been improved by the prevention of strokes as well as eliminating the need for additional angiograms. In one case, the surgery would not have been possible without this technology.

"This represents a decade of work that has brought research and innovation to direct patient care. We are fortunate to have this equipment and these services available to our patients,” says Lownie.