A new technology from Ocutrx is transforming how physicians, including spine surgeons, operate.
Ocutrx unveiled HemoLucence, a feature of the OR-Bot system that lets surgeons render blood translucent in real time during surgery, according to a June 24 news release.
“Having the ability to render blood ‘transparent’ now makes the unseen, in the heat of surgical battle, seen, creating another layer of safety and confidence for surgeons that traditional visual aids can’t provide,” Leonel Hunt, MD, Ocutrx Medical Advisor and attending surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center and Cedars-Sinai Orthopedic Center in Los Angeles, said in the release. “My primary areas of research interest involve the development of new surgical technologies and innovative surgical and non-surgical treatments for spine-related neck and back pain, and this is an important new one.”
The technology is scheduled to enter clinical trials in 2025 or 2026. HemiLucence overcomes blood opacity with advanced computational physics to understand how light behaves when passing through areas filled with blood.
“The ability to render blood as transparent will provide a level of visualization not previously possible in any field of surgery,” neurosurgeon Robert Louis, MD, director of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Memorial Hospital’s skull base and pituitary tumor program, said in the release. “No matter the discipline or scale, bleeding is a regular part of any surgery and can create several challenges. This breakthrough helps overcome those challenges and is a significant step forward in making surgery safer and more efficient.”
