Advanced imaging allows a team of experts from different disciplines to create a comprehensive surgical plan and perform complex surgeries of the head and neck

CLEVELAND — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 28, 2015 — Surgical Theater’s advanced 3D imaging technology – the SuRgical Planner (SRP) and the Surgical Navigation Advanced Platform (SNAP) – is being expanded beyond the field of neurosurgery for the first time at the Mount Sinai Hospital.

Tumors of the head and neck involve highly complex and delicate anatomy, making them some of the most technically challenging tumors to treat. While it’s common practice for a multidisciplinary team of specialists to collaborate and create treatment plans during weekly tumor board meetings, for the first time, Mount Sinai neurosurgeons and head and neck surgeons are jointly using the 3D planning and navigation platforms inside the operating room.

“The work we are doing side-by-side in the operating room using the SNAP is exemplary of our institutional vision of collaboration among departments throughout the system,” says Joshua B. Bederson, MD, Chairman of Neurosurgery for Mount Sinai Health System. “This approach to care, using an advanced virtual reality platform, leads to improved outcomes for our patients.”

Surgical Theater’s technology facilitates collaboration between groups of surgeons from Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Outside the operating room, surgeons from both disciplines use the SuRgical Planner to create and interact with a 3D model of the patient’s anatomy and pathology. Once a comprehensive game plan has been created, the 3D model is loaded onto the Surgical Navigation Advanced Platform. The SNAP is brought into the operating room and connected to a standard operating room navigation system to provide a real time 3D roadmap of the patient’s anatomy during surgery. The 3D augmentation enables the surgeons to track progress of the operation while rotating the image or making it semi-transparent in order to see behind arteries and other critical structures during the procedure. This is something that has not been possible until now. SNAP’s augmented reality allows the surgical team to analyze visual “what if” scenarios before making the actual incision or advancing a surgical instrument farther into a particular part of the tumor or brain anatomy.

Through this unique collaboration, surgeons will be able to better understand each patient’s unique anatomy and pathology, more effectively plan their surgical approach, and more accurately and safely perform complex procedures of the head and neck.

“Mount Sinai is recognized as a leader for integrating clinical research, innovation and advanced technology,” says Eric M. Genden, MD, Chairman of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery for the Mount Sinai Health System. “We are now using the 3D planning and navigation technology in an increasing number of surgeries to deliver the best care to our patients. We are excited to work with Surgical Theater on further applications of this technology in otolaryngology.”

“Working with a leading institution like Mount Sinai enables us to continue enhancing our technology based on feedback from top surgeons,” says Moty Avisar, CEO and Co-Founder of Surgical Theater. “The knowledge gained through this collaboration substantiates the capabilities of our dynamic technology to enable surgeons to gain clinical insight that was previously unavailable and enhance planning and navigation of complex cases.”

Disclaimer: Dr. Joshua B. Bederson owns equity in Surgical Theater, LLC, creator of the Surgical Navigation Advanced Program.

About Surgical Theater, LLC

Since it obtained FDA clearance in 2013, Surgical Theater 3D navigation and planning technology has been utilized in more than 700 cranial cases nationwide.

Earlier this month, Surgical Theater launched a new virtual reality version of the Surgical Navigation Advanced Platform (SNAP), which allows the surgeon to (virtually) "be" inside the patient's brain and to navigate his way through the brain and pathology. With the VR SNAP the surgeon walks through and can fly around and behind the tumor. CBS featured this new development in its national morning show:  http://cbsn.ws/1zstMSP.

Surgical Theater’s line of products includes the SuRgical Planner™ (SRP) and the Surgical Navigation Advanced Platform (SNAP), which are based on 3D imaging technology that allows surgeons to perform a real-time “fly through” and navigation in brain surgeries. The SuRgical Planner (SRP) is utilized as a 3D planning platform to optimize approaches to the pathology for keyhole and other minimally invasive techniques.

The SNAP connects to the standard OR intra-operative navigation systems and enhances the 3D navigation and situational awareness. The SNAP imports the 3D plan from the SRP and then allows surgeons to establish multiple views, rotate and interact with the navigation image to see behind pathology and vital structures, allowing the surgeon to "See What You Can't See".

To date, Surgical Theater technology has been installed in leading research and teaching hospitals across the United States including: University Hospitals Case Medical Center, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mayo Clinic, NYU Langone Medical Center, and others. www.SurgicalTheater.net