Biplane Interventional Imaging for Neurosurgery

Biplane imaging is one of the most advanced interventional medical imaging technologies available.

It uses two rotating cameras, one on each side of the patient, to take simultaneous images. As the cameras move side to side and front to back, they produce highly detailed images of blood vessels, soft tissue and blood flow in real-time.

When combined on a computer screen, the two sets of images form a 3-D portrait of the area the doctor wants to study.

Biplane Combines Diagnosis and Treatment

Biplane imaging is also used to path the blood flow through vessels, which helps to find the precise location of the disease or malformation.

Using a small amount of injectable dye to make the blood flow easier to see, the biplane imaging cameras take x-rays that the doctor can view in real time.

This helps them quickly determine if there are blockages or aneurysms, and determine the best way to provide treatment.

In many cases, the doctor can use the detailed images to help guide minimally invasive procedures to treat blockages, aneurysms or blood clots in the brain – right there in the interventional suite. 

Combining diagnosis and treatment into one procedure saves valuable time, and can make all the difference in recovery for patients with stroke or other severe neurovascular complications. 

Biplane Imaging Capabilities

This versatile biplane technology means our medical team can provide comprehensive care for even the most complex patients.

For example, it enables endovascular coiling for the treatment of aneurysms. Doctors use a catheter to guide a wire into the aneurysm. The wire coils up inside the aneurysm, stopping the blood flow and sealing off the aneurysm from the artery.

Biplane imaging is especially helpful during cerebral vascular angiography, an interventional radiology procedure used to take images of the blood vessels in the brain. The 3-D images can help locate blockages that cause ischemic stroke and identify aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (a tangle of arteries and veins) that cause hemorrhagic stroke.

Biplane can also assist doctors with stent placement and guiding catheters through the brain. Biplane is also used during neuro coiling, a minimally invasive procedure that blocks blood flow to an aneurysm.

It can also help cut off blood supply to tumors.

Biplane Suite at EvergreenHealth

The biplane is part of a new catheterization and interventional radiology suite, which also includes five preparation and recovery rooms for patients.