Multiple neurosurgical centers to evaluate long-term effectiveness, efficacy, and value of intraoperative MRI for brain tumor surgery

MINNEAPOLIS /CNW/ - IMRIS Inc. (NASDAQ: IMRS; TSX: IM) ("IMRIS" or the "Company") today announced that the first brain tumor patient was enrolled by the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, for an expanding clinical neurosurgical database designed to study the use and benefits of ceiling-mounted high-field intraoperative MRI. A collaboration with Washington University, the IMRIS Multicenter iMRI Neurosurgery Database (I-MiND) will focus on the value of advancing the science, outcomes, indications and economics for iMRI through patient data and comparative data from partnering centers.

"There is nothing else out there of this scale utilizing multiple centers for evaluating intraoperative MRI," said Dr. Michael Chicoine, I-MiND Principal Investigator and Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. "This will be critical in determining the long-term value and patient outcomes for iMRI in neurosurgery. Data from multiple sites will greatly reduce the time of collection, and therefore give us a lot of useful clinical information quickly, including new applications of the technology and emerging techniques in neurosurgery."
Chicoine said the research objectives include examining long-term effectiveness of using iMRI on extent of resection, need for additional surgery, survival and other outcome measures; improving delivery and efficiency of procedures in the OR suite; and enhancing understanding of the variability, progression and natural history of different pathologies treated while guided by iMRI.

Washington University will serve as the coordinating center and invite other hospitals that use iMRI to participate. The university has been a leader in advancing the use of iMRI in neurosurgery with the IMRIS VISIUS® Surgical Theatre which allows imaging of the patient in the middle of the surgery without moving them from the OR table. The ceiling-rail mounted iMRI moves to the patient while the procedure is still being conducted.

"Numerous studies of various iMRI devices have shown improvement in extent of resection in surgeries for various types of brain surgeries which lead to improved patient outcomes," Chicoine said. "However, this data has come mostly from retrospective data collection rather than prospective collection which would be more accurate in assessing the advantages or disadvantages of iMRI."

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