Saudi Arabia to host international symposium on advanced neurosurgery

The Symposium will be a valuable occasion to interact with expert users and explore the potential of this technology, which is at the forefront of modern neurosurgery techniques. A variety of subjects will be covered, from practical aspects like integration into the daily practice to examples of clinical applications for Intra-operative Imaging and Navigation.

"King Fahad was the first hospital in the Middle East to integrate this highly advanced technology by implementing a complete Brainsuite iMRI system for its patients and at present, it is still the only medical institution in the region to offer this kind of neurosurgical treatment. Since the installation of the Brainsuite iMRI system in 2006, we treated 515 cases," said Dr. Mahmoud Al Yamany, Director of the Neurosciences Institute, King Fahad Medical City (KFMC).

"The Symposium will provide participants with a better understanding of the benefits of this surgical solution and will illustrate its implementation in their daily work," he continued.

Brainsuite iMRI was developed by the German medical technology company Brainlab AG to meet high demands in neurosurgery. Brainlab AG is a leading provider of software-driven medical technology that supports targeted, less-invasive treatments. Brainsuite iMRI is a fully integrated workflow-optimized neurosurgical operating room (OR) that combines many surgical and diagnostic tools including image-guided surgery (IGS), intra-operative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), visualization, and data management technology for the treatment of complex neurosurgical cases such as brain tumors. The objective of the integration of different technologies is to improve clinical results.

"In the continual attempt to further improve neurosurgical procedures, image-guided surgery, in tandem with Intra-operative Imaging has become a surgical reality tool providing extremely useful information and allowing a safer and more complete tumor resection," said Dr. Al Yamany.

The integration of image-guided surgery and MR imaging gives surgeons the tools they need to localize brain tumors more accurately. Intra-operative imaging allows the assessment of surgery's objectives within the operating room itself, while the patient is still on the surgical table before the skin closure. Beyond anatomical imaging, additional scanning options such as functional MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging provide the surgeon with valuable information about the functions of the patient's brain.

Both the diagnostic and functional images, needed for image-guided neurosurgery, can be updated during the procedure; this facilitates the treatment and makes it more precise and safer for the patient. By providing better tumor resection control, Brainsuite can decrease re-operation and complication rates, increase navigation accuracy and ultimately, it helps hospitals to contain treatment costs while providing patients with better care.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates that in the Middle East and North Africa, cancer mortality rates are higher than in other regions due to the continuing need for patient awareness, access to better diagnostics and innovative treatment methods. With the implementation of leading technology such as Brainsuite iMRI at King Fahad Medical City, patients in the region get better access to advanced healthcare.

With the implementation of Brainsuite iMRI, KFMC joined as regional pioneer a worldwide group of leading medical centres that have successfully treated several thousand patients around the world. Therefore, patients based in the Middle East have now access to some of the most advanced medical treatments without the need to travel abroad.