Partners Acquire BrightMatter Technology for Neurosurgery

COVINGTON – Today, St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Ochsner Health System announced next steps in bringing complex neurological care to patients on the North Shore. BrightMatter™, the latest innovation in brain tumor and disease diagnoses and surgery, is now available to patients at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans as well as Ochsner Neurosciences Institute and St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington. 

"In addition to investments already made in talent, technology and facilities, the level of imaging now available to us through the BrightMatter technology is a significant benefit to our patients on the North Shore," said Sebastian Koga MD, chairman of neurosurgery and medical director, Ochsner Neuroscience Institute, North Shore region. "The neurosciences program at Ochsner coupled with our neurosurgery operating suite, Neuro ICU and highly skilled team at St. Tammany Parish Hospital allows us to deliver an expanded breadth and depth of neuroscience care locally.”

BrightMatter utilizes diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a type of MRI, to map out white matter tracts in a patient’s brain.  This advanced technology automatically sends imaging information to a laptop in the physician’s office and generates a 3-D image of the brain. This image provides highly detailed information not visible to the naked eye, giving surgeons a leading edge in developing the most effective route as part of their surgical plan with the best route.  Once the surgical plan is determined, BrightMatter transfers the plan to a navigation system in the operating room where physicians can navigate their trajectory while being aware of critical structures in real-time.  The technology also augments the hospitals’ electronic health record with an informatics system called ImageDrive™, providing surgeons with a story for each patient, including all pathology, scans and treatment in one view.

 “MRI imaging is the gold standard for both diagnosis and surgical planning,” said Marcus Ware MD, senior physician, neurosurgery, Ochsner Health System. “Integrating the BrightMatter technology to enhance our imaging capabilities and mapping is extremely beneficial as we work with our patients and peers to develop the most robust and precise treatment plans.  This resource not only provides support for those of us planning surgery but for the entire care team across neurology and neurosurgery.”

This latest step, adding BrightMatter at STPH, builds upon earlier investments. Since 2015, Ochsner has hired two neurosurgeons and five neurologists dedicated to providing care to west St. Tammany patients.  STPH opened a new neuroscience unit of intensive and medical/surgical care suites and a larger operating suite to accommodate complex neurosurgeries including robotic cameras, brain navigation devices, 3D visualization and high-field microscopes.

“Advancing the neurosciences at St. Tammany has been a major goal of our partnership with Ochsner for three years,” said Bob Capitelli MD, STPH chief medical officer. “Significant investments in equipment, technology and personnel have made that goal a reality. The residents of our parish no longer need to travel outside our area to receive the highest quality neurosurgical care.”

For more information go to www.stph.org/Neurosciences or www.ochsner.org/neurosciences. 

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About St. Tammany Parish Hospital

A full-service acute care facility committed to providing world-class healthcare and the latest technology, St. Tammany Parish Hospital delivers today’s life-improving procedures with the utmost care to area residents with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management close to home. STPH is recognized for quality, safety and the patient experience by Leapfrog, Hospital Compare, Healthgrades, CareChex and Women’s Choice. STPH is a self-supporting not-for-profit community hospital; it receives no ad valorem tax funding. Learn more at stph.org.

About Ochsner Health System

Ochsner Health System is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system. Driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner's 29 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and more than 80 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” across three specialty categories caring for patients from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide each year. Ochsner employs more than 18,000 employees and over 1,100 physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties, and conducts more than 600 clinical research studies. Ochsner Health System is proud to be a tobacco-free environment. For more information, please visit ochsner.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Synaptive Medical

Synaptive Medical Inc., a Toronto-based medical device and technology company, collaborates with leading clinicians and healthcare systems to revolutionize products and services that cross traditional barriers to enable continuous improvement in care delivery in and beyond the operating room. Synaptive’s integrated BrightMatter^TM solutions — including surgical planning, navigation and visualization, and an informatics platform — are designed to give clinicians the right information they need to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients.