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Many organizations will find a high ROI for the technology, however they may also struggle to justify the upfront IT infrastructure costs.
Other technological implementations, such as IoT solutions and cloud computing, may take precedence over intraoperative imaging solutions as healthcare organizations are upgrading their IT infrastructures.
Similar to other health IT infrastructure technology, adding intraoperative imaging will help organizations cut down on patient stay times due to unsuccessful surgeries and readmittance because of after surgery complications.
The report outlined the main segments expected to see the most growth as mobile-c arms, intraoperative computed tomography, intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging, and intraoperative ultrasound.
The market is also segmented into neurosurgery, orthopedic and trauma surgery, spine surgery, cardiovascular surgery, and other applications. The growth of neurological disorders and the rise of MIS will cause the neurosurgery segment to rise at a higher rate than other segments.
Intraoperative imaging is the most popular neuro and orthopedic surgeries, allowing surgeons to image the patient during surgery. Risk is reduced by imaging the patient because the surgeon is able to clearly see the results and confirm if the surgery was successful, or if additional work needs to be done.
Intraoperative MRIs (iMRI) are the most popular application of intraoperative imaging technology in neurosurgery. The Mayo Clinic defines iMRI as the use of a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissue inside the patient’s body. This allows surgeons to see brain tissue with much more clarity.
Portable iMRI devices and nearby iMRI devices are used to create the images. Portable iMRI devices are moved into the operating room as needed to create images. Nearby iMRI devices are kept in rooms near the operating room so the surgeon can move the patient into the imaging room during surgery.
Healthcare organizations looking to implement an iMRI or any other kind of intraoperative imaging solutions need to consider the physical space the tools take up, as well as the potential strain it could put on the network.
Intraoperative imaging is also used in guided cancer surgery as healthcare organizations seek a more accurate way to quickly determine if a surgery was successful.
A recent Theranostics report stated that, “optical molecular imaging is a promising technique that provides a high degree of sensitivity and specificity in tumor margin detection.
“Furthermore, existing clinical applications have proven that optical molecular imaging is a powerful intraoperative tool for guiding surgeons performing precision procedures, thus enabling radical resection and improved survival rates.”
The Theranostics report explained that there is a need for more advancement in intraoperative imaging because there is a depth of limitation with the current technology.
“Further breakthroughs from optical to multi-modality intraoperative imaging methods are needed to develop more extensive and comprehensive intraoperative applications,” report authors stated.
Intraoperative imaging is expected to grow as healthcare organizations adopt advanced IT infrastructure solutions to improve patient care and outcomes.