Hackensack University Medical Center Installs FlexArm Technology for New Hybrid Operating Room in Heart and Vascular Hospital

The installation is the third in the world utilizing the Philips Azurion with FlexArm X-ray system

The Heart and Vascular Hospital at Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center is pleased to announce the opening of a new Hybrid Operating Room with the Philips Azurion with FlexArm X-ray system, which is designed to optimize workflow and assist surgeons performing image guided procedures for heart and vascular diseases.

“The FlexArm moves around the operators, it’s not the operators moving around the equipment or moving the equipment,” said Carlos E. Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Structural and Congenital Heart Center at the Heart and Vascular Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center.  “Essentially, I can park the equipment, then when I need it, move it back into position without moving the patient.  It’s truly a unique system.”

Dr. Ruiz has been working with Philips to develop this technology for more than a decade.  Hackensack University Medical Center is the third facility in the world and the second in the United States to install the FlexArm technology.

“Hackensack University Medical Center is a recognized leader in cardiovascular clinical excellence and research,” said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center and executive vice president, Population Health, Hackensack Meridian Health.  “The cardiovascular team, under the direction of Dr. Joseph Parrillo, has created a culture of innovation that embraces new technology, giving patients access to the safest and most advanced treatments available.  The installation of this state-of-the-art hybrid operating room demonstrates our commitment to offer patients cutting-edge treatments and world-class care.”

“A Hybrid OR is the integration of a surgical operating room with an advanced X-ray imaging system, enabling surgeons as well as interventionists to perform the most advanced minimally invasive procedures, which are complex and technically demanding, requiring a high quality, flexible imaging solution,” said Joseph E. Parrillo, M.D., chair, Heart and Vascular Hospital, Justice Marie L. Garibaldi endowed chair, professor and founding chair of the Department of Cardiology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. “This state-of-the-art technology brings the services we provide to the next level and advances the care we provide to our cardiac patients to improve outcomes by giving us the ability to perform the complex procedures of the future.”

The FlexArm system is designed to help clinicians work efficiently by reducing preparation and procedure time, enabling more patients to be diagnosed and treated.  Azurion provides high quality imaging, achieving excellent visibility at low X-ray dose levels for patients of all sizes.  Azurion with FlexArm’s innovative design enables exceptional flexibility and intuitive control. Powered by a unique smart kinematic engine, the system moves on eight different axes, all controlled with its single “Axsys” controller. Simulation tests with 17 clinicians have demonstrated the system’s potential to significantly reduce the repositioning of the patient, staff and equipment to improve access for minimally invasive procedures.

Azurion’s workflow innovations paired with flexible positioning of FlexArm will help clinicians treat patients efficiently and provide superior care.

“A high quality X-ray imaging system can provide critical support during hybrid surgery and endovascular procedures in the same room,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Azurion with FlexArm allows our physicians to complete a variety of surgical and interventional procedures faster, meaning the patient is off the table and on their way to recovery and discharge much sooner.”

Along with the construction of the Hybrid OR, a new recovery area in the Post Anesthesia Cardiac Unit was also created and includes two ICU beds, which are fully equipped and located just steps from the Hybrid OR.