Scottsdale, Ariz. (May 28, 2024) – HonorHealth, a leading healthcare system serving more than five million people in the greater Phoenix and Scottsdale areas, is the first healthcare system in Arizona using Fiber Optic RealShape (FORS) technology to treat patients with complex aortic aneurysms. This technology uses light instead of X-ray for advanced imagery.
This new technology generates 3D, real-time color visualizations, providing multiple views of the anatomy allowing the surgeon to navigate more accurately through the patient’s body. This advanced imagery improves upon the 2D, grayscale images previously available using X-ray alone and will initially be used during endovascular aortic procedures.
“For these complex cases, it was not abnormal for us to be in surgery for seven or eight hours,” says Venkatesh Ramaiah, MD, FACS, chief of vascular surgery at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, divisional director of research and innovation at HonorHealth Heart Care and principal investigator at HonorHealth Research Institute. “We expect that time could be significantly reduced, leading to less time for the patients to be under anesthesia, less dye and less radiation in the operating room. More importantly, it should lead to faster recovery and less pain for our patients.”
The Research Institute continues to participate in the ongoing analysis of this new technology and its benefits to patients.
HonorHealth Heart Care is one of six locations in the United States approved to use this technology and will be training surgeons on how to implement it.