Nicklaus Children’s Hospital—a flagship hospital of the Miami Children’s Health System—recently acquired an intraoperative MRI (iMRI) system from IMRIS, Deerfield Imaging, to support its Brain Institute. This is the first pediatric hospital in Florida to secure the iMRI technology, which some consider the “gold standard” to help clinicians tell the difference between healthy and abnormal brain tissue. This technology will be used in the hospital’s surgical suite to ensure the removal of tumors while preserving healthy tissue.

Attached to a ceiling-mounted track system, the new iMRI system delivers the MRI precisely where the child is located in the surgical suite. The resulting images give surgeons a view of the affected area in real time, which helps them decide whether the area targeted is thoroughly treated or if surgical plans will need to be altered before the procedure is completed.

The system is housed in a separate imaging suite when it’s not being utilized, and that means the technology can be used for hospital inpatients who require anesthesia monitoring. Integrated with the hospital’s Brainlab Cranial neuro-navigation application in the operating suite, this technology gives surgeons “GPS-like guidance” while operating on the brain.

“The intraoperative MRI supports our neurosurgical team in maximizing resection of abnormal tissue in the safest manner possible,” says John Ragheb, MD, director of the division of neurosurgery at Nicklaus Children’s. “Studies demonstrate that use of an intraoperative MRI improves safety and the effectiveness of surgery, therefore giving the best possible neurosurgical results in the hands of an experienced surgical team.”

For more information about this technology, visit IMRIS.