Barrie debuts Toshiba hybrid operating room suite

BARRIE, Ont. – An operating room at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), in Barrie, has become one of the most technically advanced surgical theatres in the country after the installation of Toshiba’s first “hybrid” operating and imaging system in Canada.

The installation of the Toshiba Infinix-i Hybrid was completed in only four months, giving RVH the ability to conduct both open surgeries and endovascular procedures at the same time.

This minimizes hospital visits for procedures, provides real-time imaging for operative procedures, minimizing patient transport for additional imaging and lowers risk of infection by using minimally invasive procedures.

Patients undergoing surgical repair of abdominal aneurysms formerly required one to two weeks in the hospital, whereas hybrid suites allow the majority of patients to return home after only one or two days using specialized stents.

“The technology itself is incredible for patient care – we’re so pleased to have the exceptional image resolution, lower radiation dose and so much flexibility in treating our patients,” says Dr. Sandy McDonald, chief of surgery at RVH.

“Timing was also crucial – it was vitally important to have this installation completed over the summer months to complement our surgical schedule. Toshiba’s commitment to our compressed timeline for installation was crucial.”

Hybrid operating rooms emerged in Europe approximately five years ago, but aging infrastructure often required a total rebuild of surgical theatres, which took years to complete. Construction and remodeling at RVH’s suite began in April 2015, and the operating room was ready for its first patient on September 9.

“Delivering better patient care is a common goal between RVH and Toshiba,” says Jens Dettmann, General Manager and VP of Toshiba of Canada, Medical Systems Division. “This operating suite will enable shorter surgical times and a faster recovery.

“In some cases, the need for patients to undergo multiple procedures will be eliminated. Now making vascular surgery and endovascular procedures available, such as detecting and treating venous and arterial disease instantly, RVH is providing Barrie and North Simcoe Muskoka residents access to state-of-the-art healthcare options right in their region.

“By implementing a hybrid operating room at RVH, we can effectively enhance diagnosis and treatment for all of our area patients,” says Dr. McDonald. In the most complex procedures, access to the patient is often limited. Now Toshiba’s system eliminates the difficulties with operations such as endovascular aortic repair, treating thoracic and abdominal aneurysms, and the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.

For example, in vascular surgery procedures, a variety of specialized equipment is used. With the Infinix-i Hybrid, longitudinal and lateral movements allow the required exposure field to be obtained without moving the operating table.

These features are useful for patients treated under local, regional or general anesthesia, as the Infinix-i offers advanced image processing, dose reduction features and complete flexibility to assist patients requiring such specialized procedures as treating aneurysms.

Dynamic viewing and flexible network integration permits rapid export and retrieval of images for hospital staff. The Infinix-i Hybrid imaging system is part of Toshiba’s family of interventional systems.

About Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

RVH is a regional health centre in Barrie, Ontario, located 80 kilometres north of Toronto. As the largest hospital in the region of Simcoe Muskoka, RVH’s team of over 350 physicians, 2,500 employees and 850 volunteers provides exceptional care and specialty services to almost half a million residents, including cancer care, stroke services, orthopaedics, intensive care, mental health and interventional radiology. In 2012, RVH opened a $450 million expansion that doubled the size of the health centre, featuring advanced technology and specialized services not offered elsewhere in the region. For more information visit www.rvh.on.ca.

About Toshiba Of Canada Limited, Medical Systems Division

With headquarters in Markham, Ontario, Toshiba of Canada Limited, Medical Systems Division (TCL), markets, sells, distributes and services radiology and cardiovascular systems, including CT, MR, ultrasound, X-ray and cardiovascular equipment, and coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research for all modalities in Canada. For more information, visit the TCL Medical Systems Division website at www.toshiba-medical.ca.

About Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a leading worldwide provider of medical diagnostic imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray and vascular, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and MRI systems, as well as information systems for medical institutions. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation has been providing medical products for over 100 years. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toshiba. Visit Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation’s website at www.toshibamedicalsystems.com.