Novel Neuro-Navigation System for Use in the Operating Room Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved a new surgical navigation system that provides groundbreaking 3-D views of brain tractography.

The innovative system displays 3-D Magnetic Resonance (MRI) Diffusion-Tensor Images (DTI) of the brain. The system helps surgeons guide their tools and inform their surgical approach by overlaying the DTI data over an anatomical scan, and allowing surgeons to visualize the brain's internal networks in the operating room.


The BrightMatter Guide was developed by Synaptive Medical (Toronto, ON, Canada), and when interfaced with the Synaptive BrightMatter Vision and BrightMatter Drive technologies, can be used as an automated positioning system. The BrightMatter Guide continuously tracks the paths of multiple tools during a surgical procedure in the brain, and provides real-time location updates within the surgical cavity.

Cameron Piron, president of Synaptive Medical, said, "BrightMatter Guide is a GPS of sorts for the brain, giving surgeons a visual representation of the complex structures and associated tractography of the brain in the operating room, where they need them. Combined with our other technologies, Synaptive can streamline the entire procedure, from preoperative imaging to postoperative evaluation. We are providing surgeons with the tools to adapt to the changing surgical environment, integrating imaging modalities and technologies as they are needed."

Related Links:
Synaptive Medical 
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)