Clinical Planning

Validation studies confirm that in a clinical setting, the Rehearsal Studio may be an optimal tool for the advance planning of an endovascular procedure. Pre-Op planning may result in better overall outcomes for patients, and holds many advantages to the clinician as well. Benefits are in the PROcedure Rehearsal Studio’s potential to:

• Shorten procedure time
• Reduce radiation exposure time
• Prevent complications and reduce risks
• Enhance effective decision making
• Improve operating physician’s confidence

A great example of how the PROcedure Rehearsal Studio’s  advanced technology can be used may be seen in the following movies from the ICCA 2009 and 2010 conventions, held in Frankfurt, Germany. During the live session at each of the events, Professor Sievert was in the Frankfurt Hospital cathlab with a live patient waiting to undergo a CAS procedure, while in the general assembly hall at the conference, a well known Surgeon (Dr. Cremonesi in 2009 and Dr. Myla in 2010) was on stage using the Simbionix ANGIO Mentor™ simulator and the PROcedure Rehearsal Studio™. The live patient’s CT scan was used to create the 3D model on the PRS, which was then exported to the ANGIO Mentor, allowing the physician on stage to choose the tool to be used and ‘perform the case’ before it was actually performed on the live patient in the cath lab. The well known expert physicians continuously discussed the best approach for each step, the best C-arm angulations and the recommended tools to use during each phase of the procedure. Utilizing the PRS with the ANGIO Mentor allowed the physician on stage to try several options on the machine before Professor Sievert performed the actual procedure on the live patient, enhancing effective decision making, leading to shortened procedure time and radiation exposure time, enhancing patient safety.

Comments made by the experts during the 2009 session:

• Professor Sievert: “Simulators will have a place in the future to plan a procedure. They are not only for training. They allow us to look at the anatomy and try devices before we actually start the procedure.”
• Professor Cremonesi: “Very interesting this simulator. Very close to what can happen in reality. That’s great!!!”

Comments made by the experts during the 2010 session:

• Dr Myla: “Horst, that’s exactly what I did. It’s quite impressive that the CT [simulator] of Simbionix is correlating to the angiography here.”
• Dr Myla: “This is quite impressive, it exactly fels like the way a Vitek [angiographic catheter] would behave in that area.”