March 4, 2024
Superman isn’t the only one with x-ray vision these days.
You have made it possible for St. Boniface Hospital surgeons like Dr. Randy Guzman to get some of their clearest views yet inside the human body, using state of the art diagnostic imaging equipment.
The newest addition is a mobile fluoroscopic C-arm, funded by Foundation donors and Hospital lottery ticket buyers. The Hospital put it into use starting in January of 2024.
“This is for wire procedures, where you want to see the blood vessel so you can balloon it, you can stent it,” explained Dr. Guzman, who is Regional Lead, Section of Vascular Surgery, WRHA and Service Chief, Section of Vascular Surgery at St. Boniface Hospital.
The mobile C-arm uses x-rays to give Dr. Guzman live, high-definition pictures of blood vessels during minimally invasive procedures. “Basically, you need an x-ray picture to see inside the body to thread and manipulate the wires,” he said.
The new three-piece set, manufactured by GE HealthCare, includes the C-arm unit, double touch-screen monitors, and a smaller, portable monitor with controls to move and rotate the C-arm. All the equipment is on caster wheels.
“There are older mobile C-arms in the Hospital, but this one is the most advanced in terms of the imaging quality and capabilities,” he said. “It’s pretty cool.”
Alternative to hybrid OR
“With this, you can get different angles and zoom in and out, if you can imagine you’re looking at a 2D picture of a 3D structure. So, you need to be able to change your angles all the time. As a surgeon you can manipulate the C-arm yourself.”
Dr. Guzman noted the new mobile C-arm is used in company with Manitoba’s first endovascular hybrid operating room, which opened at St. B in December of 2022.
“This is a setup where we can use the mobile C-arm in case there’s another surgeon who is using the hybrid OR (in which a fixed C-arm is used), or if the hybrid OR is down. You need some kind of backup,” he said.
“Lots of hospitals operate on mobile C-arms only, so we are lucky to have both. We are very grateful to Foundation donors for their support.”