Interventional Imaging
Robotic Technology Improves Treatment Planning, Delivery
Patients undergoing interventional radiology procedures at the University of Virginia Health System can benefit from a new interventional imaging system that produces faster, more accurate and complete images that aid treatment planning and delivery.
UVA was the first hospital in the U.S. - and one of the first two hospitals in the world - to use the Artis zeego®, which combines fluoroscopy and CT-type imaging with robotic technology. The Artis zeego's robotic arm allows physicians to move the imaging system instead of the patient, says John Fritz Angle, M.D., Director of Interventional Radiology at UVA, reducing strain on the patient while helping improve treatment by gathering images from a variety of positions that previously were difficult to obtain.
The combination of fluoroscopy and CT-like imaging also allows physicians to view image slices and see soft tissue definition of organs, such as the liver and kidney. The Artis zeego also has a wider field of vision for CT, Angle says, which for instance allows physicians to view the entire abdomen in a single image instead of just a portion of it.
"Having CT-scan capability within the angiography suite gives us additional information in planning and guiding treatment," he says.
With the Artis zeego, UVA's treatment team can now quickly reconstruct a 3-D rendering, says Michael Dake, M.D., Chair of UVA's Department of Radiology, while existing imaging equipment either produces 2-D renderings or requires lengthy reconstructions to produce 3-D renderings. Combined with improved image resolution and fidelity, the Artis zeego helps physicians provide a more accurate diagnosis, more efficiently create a tailored treatment plan for each patient and move seamlessly into an interventional procedure.
"The improved imagery will also allow physicians to more accurately determine the end point of an intervention," Dake says. That should make the procedures more convenient for patients and potentially safer with less exposure to X-rays and dyes for patients, he adds.
The Artis zeego has immediately proven beneficial, Angle says, in treating patients with liver tumors. The treatment team can see the entire liver in a single CT-type image, he says, improving the accuracy of a transarterial chemoembolization by helping determine whether the correct vessels are receiving the chemotherapy. The improved imaging from the Artis zeego has also improved the efficiency of percutaneous lithotripsy, which breaks up and removes large kidney stones, helping physicians break up and remove more of the stones.
To refer a patient for an interventional radiology procedure, call UVA Physician Direct at 800-552-3723.