Until xCAT® ENT rolled into the lives of ENT surgeons at U Penn, and into the lives of their patients in the operating room, there was almost no way to CT scan during surgery. Big immobile hospital scanners could not be used in the operating room and patients could not be wheeled down to central imaging in the middle of a surgery. xCAT® ENT supplied surgeons that all-desirable updated CT scan while in surgery.

A pattern
The team at U Penn began to see a pattern. The uniquely designed mobile xCAT® ENT was more than a luxury tool of vision, it was a surgical advantage. xCAT® ENT became an extra set of eyes for the surgeon in the operating room, allowing the surgeon to see beyond those areas surgically explored. With a set of fresh blueprints, the surgeons were able to make final surgical corrections instead of prematurely closing patients.
The mobile xCAT® is the brainchild of Xoran Technologies, an Ann Arbor, Michigan based biotechnology company, founded in 2001 by two University of Michigan research scientists. Xoran is the industry pioneer of ultra compact, low-dose CT scanners for imaging highly specific areas of a patient's head.

An engineering puzzle
To develop xCAT® ENT, Xoran shrunk CT technology into an ultra portable device, a fraction of the size of a full-body scanner and about 1/10 the weight. The distinctive scanner is incredibly compact, turns on a dime, can be easily wheeled directly to the patient on the operating table, and quickly deliver CT images right in the middle of the operating room. Because operating rooms are tight, the size, turning radius and ease of use are critical.

Findings: patients benefit
The study by the ENT surgeons at U Penn established that the ability to perform a "report card" scan at the end of surgery allowed the surgeon to make final surgical corrections instead of prematurely closing the patient. Even in the hands of those surgeons who are the most skilled in performing this surgery, xCAT® ENT presented a pathway to performing additional necessary surgery before the patient awoke in 30% of operations. The study will affect a sizable percentage of those 29.5 million Americans troubled with sinus disease that requires surgery, potentially allowing them to move on with their lives -- instead of returning to hospitals for those additional and painful operations. It was the surgical team's conclusion that this currently available technology has the potential to improve the extent of surgery in patients with complicated anatomy and extensive disease.

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