Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, one of the largest teaching hospitals in Belgium, recently introduced its new hybrid cardiovascular operating room (OR). In addition to the new OR, the hospital has also equipped itself with an Artis zeego multi-axis system.
Artis zeego, a member of the Artis zee family for interventional procedures, proved to be the right choice for the hospital. Its robotic technology makes it ideal for hybrid surgery in an OR. “With the Artis zeego, we have maximum flexibility when it comes to positioning endovascular devices anywhere in the patients’ bodies – so we don’t need to move or to turn patients when they are under general anesthesia in the OR,” states Parla Astarci, deputy head of the clinic’s cardiovascular and thoracic surgery department. “This technology also offers excellent visualization of the details and a simple user interface that is more comfortable for the surgical team.” It gives the physician full autonomy of image treatment and image reconstruction from the sterile operative field.
The aim of the two additions is to combine the advantages of a cardiac catheterization room with a traditional OR. This will allow for the combination of the specific features of both surgery and cardiology and enable surgeons to bring minimally-invasive procedures to the OR. With Artis zeego, the hospital can now offer new treatment opportunities to their patients. Percutaneous aortic valve implantation is one of the new techniques available at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc. “Other operations, such as fitting complex endoprostheses [fenestrated endografts] for aortic aneurysms, could also benefit from this equipment,” says Dr Astarci.
