New Technology Helps Neurosurgeons Identify, Remove More Tumors.

Publication: The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Miami Herald

Byline: Christine Morris

Mar. 21--Dr. Sergio Gonzalez-Arias left a grueling eight-hour operation last week confident he had removed every bit of Soledad Duenas' large brain tumor.

The Baptist Hospital neurosurgeon relied on a new technology called image guided surgery, which provides four views that can confirm the exact boundaries of the brain, tumor and surrounding anatomy at any point during the operation. "This has added a tremendous degree of safety and precision," Gonzalez-Arias said of the electromagnetic system, known as InstaTrak.

Older optical guidance systems work only outside the body, forcing brain surgeons into guesswork as they find their way around the carotid artery, sinuses and other critical organs.

With the new navigational tool, Gonzalez-Arias uses a receiver on a probe that sends images from four angles to a screen next to the operating table, showing the parameters of the tumor and allowing him to make...

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