The Stealth AXiS system recently received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cranial procedures. Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com.

GE HealthCare has integrated its bkActiv intraoperative ultrasound (iUS) system with Medtronic’s Stealth AXiS surgical navigation system to provide imaging during cranial procedures.

The solution is now commercially available and supports real-time advanced imaging to enhance surgical planning and navigation workflows.

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This integration builds on the existing alliance between GE HealthCare Surgical Innovations and Medtronic.

Through this development, neurosurgeons gain a “plug-and-play” real-time visualisation tool using bkActiv and the Stealth AXiS system without interrupting established workflows.

The Stealth AXiS system recently received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cranial procedures, combining navigation, robotics, and planning into an integrated platform to facilitate real-time insight in the operating theatre.

In cranial operations, surgeons may face “brain shift”, a natural movement or brain deformation during surgery, which can diminish the accuracy of pre-surgical images.

bkActiv addresses this challenge by providing real-time visualisation, supplying live intraoperative ultrasound imagery to the Stealth AXiS system, where it can be viewed alongside pre-operative CT or MRI images.

The system features include an image mirror to duplicate ultrasound images on the user interface, a sensitive colour Doppler for blood flow visualisation, and algorithms for uniform image resolution.

GE HealthCare surgical innovations general manager Heidi Seerden said: “Real-time visualisation is critical for cranial surgical teams to assess anatomy, navigate changes, and make critical decisions in the surgical suite.

“We are proud to build on our long-time collaboration with Medtronic to bring together bkActiv with the Stealth AXiS surgical navigation system in a way that supports our shared goals of supporting surgical precision and clinician confidence.”

Last month, GE HealthCare received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for View, the diagnostic viewer within its Genesis Radiology Workspace.