Rush University System for Health has announced today that it has acquired Quantum Surgical’s Epione platform. Rush University Medical Center is among a select group of hospitals nationwide—and the first in the Midwest—to adopt this technology.
The Epione platform is a state-of-the-art robotic-assisted technology for interventional radiologists who perform percutaneous ablations of abdominal tumours, a minimally invasive treatment often used with curative intent. Epione supports physicians in planning the optimal targeting of a tumour and monitoring the patient’s position in real-time. The robotic arm uses this information to precisely position the physician’s instrumentation. This enables increased accuracy of the ablation procedure and allows for immediate confirmation if the tumour ablation was successful, a press release has stated.
“Rush’s interventional radiology programme is one of the best programmes in the country, excelling in clinical interventional care, education with one of the largest and most sought-after residency programmes, and robust research activities with multiple ongoing clinical trials,” says Bulent Arslan, director of vascular and interventional radiology (IR) at Rush.
“We are very happy to be first in the region to provide this new technology to our patients that will make their experience better, more efficient, and safer. Robotic systems have been in surgical care for many years and now are available for the interventional care of patients. We treat complex lesions throughout the body with ablative therapies, but it is not always easy to reach our targets, and there is some risk involved in the process.
Using Epione, we will be able to reach most locations with computerised guidance using patients’ existing computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images relatively easily and with less risk. This is an evolution in cancer patient care, and we are excited to be the first in the Chicago area to offer it.”
While surgery may be an option for some, it often involves higher costs and longer hospital stays. Epione is a minimally invasive option for patients with small tumours.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone as Quantum Surgical’s Epione platform arrives in the Midwest,” said Bertin Nahum, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Quantum Surgical. “We are excited to collaborate with the esteemed team at Rush University System for Health, as our mission is to ensure that as many cancer patients as possible can benefit from this minimally invasive technology.”
