Rapides Regional Unveils State’s Most Advanced Neurosurgical Suite

Rapides Regional Medical Center August 09, 2018

The future is here.

Actually, it is at Rapides Regional Medical Center, which is now home to a complete $2.5 million Brainlab neurosurgical suite.

There are fewer than 100 hospitals in the country that have this most technologically advanced neurosurgical suite. In Louisiana, the only one is at Rapides Regional.

The Brainlab neurosurgical suite at Rapides Regional Medical Center consists of two main elements:

AIRO – a mobile intraoperative CT scanner that provides surgeons with the flexibility to access real-time patient images without leaving the operating room
CURVE – a navigation system that allows surgeons to operate with great precision.

In addition, a Zeiss 4K/3D microscope integrates with the Brainlab equipment to allow surgeons to see the surgical site, real-time imaging and instrumentation all in one field of vision during a procedure.

“At Rapides Regional Medical Center, our goal is to provide our patients with safe and precise treatments,” said Jason Cobb, CEO of Rapides Regional Medical Center. “With Airo, our surgeons have access to intraoperative CT images of the patient’s anatomy while the patients are still in the operating room. Combine that with the image guided surgery system, and this saves time and enables greater surgical accuracy.”

These Brainlab tools allow highly specialized neurosurgical procedures to be performed here in Central Louisiana, saving patients the added expense of having to travel. Minimally-invasive spinal procedures, deep-brain stimulations, surgery on complex brain tumors and specialized spine procedures can now be performed at Rapides Regional Medical Center by our team of neurosurgeons.

Another advantage of the Brainlab system for patients is it reduces the need for revisions and follow-up surgeries.

“Brainlab is privileged to collaborate with leading institutions like Rapides Regional Medical Center,” said Stefan Vilsmeier, President and CEO at Brainlab. “These partnerships enable us to constantly deliver above and beyond customer expectations, and to ultimately deliver the industry’s most advanced image-guided navigation technology—making an immediate positive impact on overall surgeon performance and potentially on patient outcomes.”