Brain work and slipped discs just got easier to treat

Doctors at Johannesburg's Garden City hospital are thrilled that Africa’s first robotic neurosurgery visualisation technology‚ a state-of-the-art microscope system‚ is now operational.

The Zeiss Kinevo 900 is described as a highly advanced robotic visualisation system used to guide the most intricate neurosurgeries.

“The equipment is the latest of its kind available globally‚ and offers a number of advanced functionalities over other surgical microscopes available on the market today‚” said Jacques du Plessis‚ managing director of the Netcare Hospital division.

Du Plessis said the new microscope system provides excellent 3D visualisation of the brain‚ spine and other parts of the nervous system and will be extremely useful to neurosurgeons in diagnosing problems‚ as well as to guide a range of intricate procedures to treat abnormalities of‚ and diseased tissue within‚ the nervous system.

“This new-generation visualisation device is perhaps best described as an enabling technology: it allows the neurosurgeon to use both a 3D digital screen‚ as well as the traditional microscope optic‚ providing them with more options and greater flexibility while performing procedures‚” Du Plessis added.

WATCH | Zeiss Kinevo 900 features

Dr Yusuf Osman‚ a neurosurgeon practising at Netcare Garden City Hospital‚ said the new system allowed for neurological procedures - including to treat brain tumours‚ malformations in the brain stem and spine tumours - to be done through the smallest possible incisions‚ and with the greatest degree of accuracy.

“This visualisation technology will also prove its worth in various other neurological procedures‚ including the treatment of blood vessel abnormalities in the brain and slipped discs in the spine‚” said Osman.

Zeiss is a company that was established in Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. The first photographs taken on the moon by the crew of Apollo 11 in 1962 were captured using Zeiss camera lenses.

Source: TMG Digital.