Utilization of the Intraoperative Mobile AIRO® CT Scanner in Stereotactic Surgery: Workflow and Effectiveness

In frame-based stereotactic surgery, intraoperative imaging is crucial. It generally follows a workflow including preoperative MRI and intraoperative frame-based CT. The intraoperative transport of the anesthetized and intubated patient to and from the CT unit can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Here, we report the first 50 patients who underwent stereotactic biopsies using the mobile AIRO® intraoperative CT (iCT) scanner.

A conventional stereotactic frame was mounted to the AIRO® carbon table via carbon adapter. 0°gantry thin-slice iCT was performed. The imaging data were transferred to a conventional stereotaxy working unit. After fusion of the preoperative MRI and AIRO® iCT, the stereotactic system was built based on the iCT, and trajectories were calculated accordingly.

The frame-based stereotactic iCT was easy to implement and successfully accomplished in all patients. The MRI/iCT image fusion was feasible in all of the studies. A conclusive histological result was obtained in 46 of the 50 cases included. There was no bleeding complication. Net surgery time was reduced by 38 min, on average.

We conclude that the AIRO® system is a safe, easy-to-use, and sufficiently accurate iCT for CT frame-based stereotactic biopsy planning that results in a considerable reduction of surgery time. In the future, it remains to be evaluated if the accuracy rates and intraoperative workflow will permit its application in deep brain stimulation and other functional procedures as well.