Baptist Health Neuroscience Center Debuts Intraoperative MRI (VIDEO)

(VIDEO: Intraoperative MRI is giving surgeons at Baptist Health Neuroscience Center the ability to make real-time assessments during surgery.)

Neurosurgeons at Baptist Health Neuroscience Center have a new ally as they perform delicate and complex brain surgery. Baptist Health Neuroscience Center is the first and only facility in Miami-Dade using intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging or iMRI. The device is mounted on overhead rails, allowing it to move between two dedicated operating rooms, giving neurosurgeons the ability to treat complex brain tumors with real-time, image-guided precision. The installation of iMRI was part of the $100 million expansion of Baptist Health Neuroscience Center, Baptist Hospital’s Surgery Center and Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

“With intraoperative MRI, technology and integration come together to allow us to deliver the highest level of precision, quality and safety in our neurological surgical procedures,” says Sergio Gonzalez-Arias, M.D., medical director of Baptist Health Neuroscience Center. “We are second to none in the world when it comes to treating our patients and our community,” Dr. Gonzalez-Arias added.

Use of iMRI makes brain surgery more precise and safe by helping neurosurgeons avoid damaging the areas of the brain that control speech, movement and the senses when a tumor is located in a sensitive location. Additionally, iMRI also helps neurosurgeons remove as much of the unhealthy tissue as possible during the first surgical intervention, decreasing the need for brain tumor patients to undergo additional operations.

The Baptist Health South Florida News Team talks to Vitaly Siomin, M.D., medical director of the Brain Tumor Program at Baptist Health Neuroscience Center as he uses iMRI. Watch it now.