The latest surgical camera from Stryker, a medical technology company, may help surgeons see (and breathe) better during operations.
Stryker’s 1788 Platform features a camera and imaging display with full 4K resolution that improve tone, color saturation, and fluorescence imaging, which uses light to identify tumors and cancer cells. For example, the surgical monitor can display 62.5x more colors than previous camera iterations, “enabling clearer observation of fine tissue types and structures at a variety of angles,” according to the company.
The technology, which was rolled out on September 14, also whisks away harmful surgical smoke—a reaction that occurs when heat-producing medical technology turns substances such as blood or tissue into gases full of toxic compounds, according to the CDC—which can irritate surgeons’ eyes and contribute to upper respiratory tract issues, the Joint Commission, a not-for-profit health accreditor, found.
“Stryker partnered with our surgeon users to design the 1788 Platform to be a powerful partner in the [operating room] and to enhance the surgical experience across specialties,” Andrés Rosales, VP and general manager of Stryker’s endoscopy business unit, said in a statement.
How it works
During minimally invasive operations, surgeons can place the 1788 technology into incisions within the patient that are smaller than those made during a typical surgery. The camera feeds the data into a monitor, which displays a video feed and images. This type of tech can be helpful in specialties such as urology, neurology, and otorhinolaryngology, according to the company.
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Surgeons can also access the images and video post-surgery through an app, and they can send those media elements to the patient alongside “postoperative instructions to heighten patient engagement,” Caitlin Clark, Stryker’s global marketing VP, told Healthcare Brew.
Multiple health systems across North America have already implemented the 1788 Platform to collect feedback prior to the technology’s debut, Clark said. For Matthew Albert, a colon and rectal surgeon at AdventHealth who provided early clinical feedback on the platform, the 1788 camera “provides consistent and vivid imaging.”
“The early feedback has been that the 1788 camera delivers better fluorescence imaging and an enhanced user experience, which is particularly helpful in those deep or highly complex cases when surgeons are working in tight cavities—such as sinus cases and pituitary resections,” Rosales said in a statement.
The 1788 Platform includes a surgical camera, light source, monitor, and other products, and pricing depends on whether a hospital purchases the entire system or individual components, Clark said.
Stryker will present the new 1788 Platform technology next month at the American College of Surgeons’s Clinical Congress in Boston alongside other companies with their surgical innovations.
“While this product today will make a substantial impact, there will be further releases to the ecosystem as we partner with regulatory bodies and conduct research into the wide array of applications that clinical optics can influence,” Clark said.