Robot-supported angiography system
Ideally suited to the hybrid OR working environment, the innovative robot-supported Artis pheno angiography system was developed for use in minimally invasive surgery, interventional radiology and interventional cardiology. The zen40HDR flat panel detector and the GIGALIX X-ray tube give the Artis pheno outstanding image quality. Resolution for 2D imaging is four times higher – compared to the company’s prior systems – in all recording processes thanks to the system’s new 2k recording technology. The StructureScout feature can adapt and optimize imaging parameters to best suit the material structure of the area being X-rayed, which enables even less radiation to be used compared to the company’s prior systems . Artis pheno is designed to support treatment of multimorbid patients and can be fitted with a comprehensive range of optional software applications to deal with complex cases. Thanks to the hygiene approach developed especially for Artis pheno, the system has large, sealed surfaces with fewer spaces, which helps customers with system cleaning. An antimicrobial coating prevents bacteria and viruses from multiplying on the system.
Because it can scan up to 15 percent faster in the body area – compared to prior systems – , syngo DynaCT is able to produce 3D images that need less contrast agent for the imaging process. If the patient is sensitive to the contrast agent, Artis pheno can also support CO2 imaging of the extremities. The system follows the tilted table and increases CO2 visibility using the new StructureScout. The C-arm is 13 centimeters wider and has a free inner diameter of 95.5 centimeters, which offers more space for handling adipose patients and means longer instruments can be used without difficulty. The Siemens Healthineers multi-tilt table is also designed to accommodate patients weighing up to 280 kilograms. The end of the table can be tilted both up and down, to stabilize the patient’s blood pressure, for example, or to make breathing easier when necessary. The robotic construction of the Artis pheno gives it a flexible isocenter that it shares with its predecessor, the Artis zeego. This means the angiography system can follow all table positions and provide the best possible imaging support for the patient’s treatment, while representing the target area of the body from virtually any angle. Artis pheno can also be combined with surgical tables from Maquet und Trumpf which enable patients to be specially positioned for operations. Typical positions involve patients lying on their side, stretched out on their side, or even sitting. Surgeons can move the easy-float tabletop on the new multi-tilt table with minimal effort, regardless of how much the tabletop has been tilted on either of its axes, or how heavy the patient is. Artis phenol recognizes the position of the tabletop at all times, and automatically aligns itself to the tabletop with every movement. The memory positions let the system move the C-arm out of the operating area quickly if necessary, giving the surgeon and the operating team free access to the patient, and then move it back to exactly the same position again for further imaging. This means results can be checked directly, even while the operation is still in progress.
Many additional optional application packages can be used with the Artis pheno. In spinal fusion procedures, for example, up to ten vertebrae can be visualized in 3D imaging using syngo DynaCT Large Volume. Syngo Needle Guidance then makes it possible to plan extensive procedures using screws or needles. Screw paths can be planned with precision, and the Automatic Path Alignment function automatically aligns the C-arm to follow them. The laser integrated in the image detector shows the surgeon the planned path, which helps improve both accuracy and speed in the OR. Using this software application can help minimize the rate of screw positioning errors in the spine and also speed up the work process in this area.
A number of applications on the Artis pheno support transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of tumours. TACE involves supplying embolic particles coated with a chemotherapeutic drug via a catheter directly into the arteries leading to the tumour. Using syngo DynaCT 360, it takes just six seconds for the Artis pheno to generate a large-volume image of the liver or lung, for example, including the anatomy of the tumour and the vessels leading to it. Rapid rotation is vitally important in reducing movement artifacts, since the patients are given only local sedation for the TACE procedure. The syngo Embolization Guidance application renders arterial vessels visible and helps distinguish the vessels and treatment paths using colour-coding. Graphic overlaying of the selected vessel paths with the real-time X-ray images makes the vessels that supply the tumour visible for simplified microcatheter navigation which can save on the dose of both radiation and contrast agent.
