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CBS Pittsburgh features Allegheny General patient’s treatment with Modus V™

CBS Pittsburgh features Allegheny General patient’s treatment with Modus V™

  • CBS Pittsburgh features Allegheny General patient’s treatment with Modus V™

    KDKA, a CBS affiliate TV station in Pittsburgh, has featured the use of Synaptive’s groundbreaking Modus V™ surgical robotic arm at Allegheny General Hospital on a patient who underwent awake brain surgery for the removal of a tumor.

    Michael Ban was out with friends when he started to slur his words, health reporter Dr. Maria Simbra reports in the KDKA news story. He was taken to emergency, where a brain scan revealed a cancerous tumor in the region of the brain responsible for speech and language.

    Ban’s doctors recommended immediate surgery, and what they told him next surprised him – that he would be conscious during the operation.

    “You’re also going to be awake for the surgery, which is something that I didn’t anticipate going in,” Ban told KDKA.

    Used in conjunction with Synaptive’s BrightMatter™ navigation system, Allegheny neurosurgeon Dr. Alexander Yu successfully performed the critical operation.

    Ban’s life has returned to normal following a round of post-operative cancer treatment.

    Dr. Yu says that Modus V’s automatic tracking of surgical tools helps him focus during surgery.

    “I can concentrate on taking the tumor out, and as I move, the camera moves with me,” says Dr. Yu.

    “I can work around the microscope, I can position my body, sometimes, a little more ergonomically.”

    Allegheny Health Network acquired Modus V and BrightMatter in early 2018, and have used the innovative technologies in more than 40 operations.

    You can read the full KDKA story here.

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