Barnes-Jewish Hospital is one of only three hospitals in the world to introduce the IMRIS VISIUS surgical imaging suite. The installation of this magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system that can perform MRI tests during surgery is expected later this year.

“We will have a state-of-the-art operating room for the 21st century,” says Ralph Dacey Jr., MD, Washington University neurosurgeon at the Siteman Cancer Center and chairman of neurosurgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “It will be the most sophisticated neurosurgical operating room in the Midwest." Today, neurosurgeons must make their best estimation when removing brain tumors during surgery, but it isn't until an MRI is completed after surgery—sometimes days or weeks later—that the true success of the surgery is known. However, the VISIUS is designed to obtain MRI images during surgery, which improves patient outcomes by enabling neurosurgeons to more completely remove the tumor during the initial surgery.

“Barnes-Jewish has taken another step to ensure the technology will benefit the highest number of patients,” says Michael Chicoine, MD, Washington University neurosurgeon at Siteman. “VISIUS has a unique ceiling mount that allows it to move between two operating rooms, thus enabling it to assist in two procedures simultaneously.”