HonorHealth, a healthcare system serving more than five million people in the greater Phoenix and Scottsdale areas, is the first healthcare system in Arizona to use Fiber Optic RealShape technology to treat patients with complex aortic aneurysms. 

This technology uses light instead of X-ray for advanced imagery, generating 3D, real-time, color visualizations and providing multiple views of the anatomy allowing the surgeon to navigate more accurately through the patient’s body, according to a press release.

The 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,” Dr. Venkatesh Ramaiah, chief of vascular surgery at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center and divisional director of research and innovation at HonorHealth Heart Care, stated in the release. 

Also the principal investigator at HonorHealth Research Institute, Ramaiah went on to explain that they expect that time could be significantly reduced, leading to less time for patients being 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,” Ramaiah stated.

The Research Institute continues to participate in the ongoing analysis of this new technology and its benefits to patients, according to the release. 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.