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seren medical ltd, 36-38 Pendre, Cardigan, Ceredigion, SA43 1JS.  01239 621204

Rev 5.37 - 18/01/12

Neuronavigation systems have become very common in neurosurgery in recent years. Conventional navigation systems utilise preoperative MR or CT images which are anywhere up to several days old, and and even if current at the start of an operation, they rapidly become “out of date” as the procedure progresses. These cannot then be fully relied upon because "the map does not correspond with the terrain". SonoWand® enables the surgeon to easily update the map during surgery, taking only a few seconds to scan the brain with high quality real time 3D ultrasound.

The pre-operative MR/CT is used to plan the craniotomy (as in conventional systems), but once the skull is opened a 3D Ultrasound scan is performed to get a first 3D image of the region of interest. The scan is sent to the navigation computers (in approximately 20 seconds) and this then gives an up to date image to navigate from - hence accounting for any amount of brain shift that has taken place during opening, and giving clear and accurate navigation.

 

Subsequent scans can be done at any time during the procedure giving immediate updates to the images -  following through the course of a tumour resection for example. At the end of the procedure a final scan can be performed for resection control (residual tumour should be easily visible), confirmation of occlusion of aneurysm, etc. This scenario comes into its own particularly during the resection of low grade tumours, as the ultrasound clearly shows the demarcation between residual tumour and normal brain.

 

Live 2D images can also be used at any time during the procedure, facilitating for example :- guidance of drains, catheters, biopsy & aspiration needles, etc.

 

The system also incorporates 3D Ultrasound Power Doppler imaging intra-operatively, which is highly effective during vascular tumour resections and also Aneurysm and AVM surgery.

 

In all cases the images can be fused/overlaid with pre-operative images with excellent results. In effect the SonoWand takes the place of an intra-operative MRI system at a fraction of the cost and with the SonoWand only taking 20 seconds to update images.

 

Historically, some Neurosurgeons have shied away from intra-operative ultrasound as a means of navigation and resection control, mainly due to image quality problems and difficulty with interpretation of images. The SonoWand offers extremely high definition image quality, and several innovative display modes which drastically simplify image interpretation.

State of the art intra-operative Neuro imaging, fully integrating 3D high-definition ultrasound, 3D power Doppler, and conventional image guided surgery.

Please contact us to arrange an on-site presentation.