The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance for Siemens Healthineers’ CIARTIC Move, a self-driving mobile C-arm designed to automate repositioning during surgery.
The system is set to address staff shortages and work overload in operating rooms.
It expedites and standardises 2D fluoroscopic and 3D cone-beam computed tomography (CT) imaging for surgical teams.
Designed to improve surgical imaging efficiency, the CIARTIC Move is tailored for various applications, including trauma, orthopaedic, and spine surgery. It can also be utilised in thoracic, cardiovascular, vascular, and general surgery, urology and interventional pulmonology.
The fully motorised design of the CIARTIC Move, extending from the C-arm to the wheels, streamlines imaging workflows and promotes consistency. This automation is expected to reduce the manual effort and staffing needs for C-arm positioning.
Furthermore, the device can store up to 12 procedure-specific positions and imaging parameters, which can be easily recalled during a procedure.
Siemens Healthineers North America Advanced Therapies business surgical therapies vice-president April Grandominico said: “With the FDA clearance of the CIARTIC Move, Siemens Healthineers proudly introduces our first self-driving mobile C-arm, which can provide much-needed relief for overtaxed operating room teams by automating and accelerating intraoperative imaging workflows to a previously unseen degree.”
The CIARTIC Move also features active sensing technology to ensure safe transportation by detecting obstacles and halting motorised movement to prevent collisions.
According to preclinical testing, the CIARTIC Move has demonstrated significant time savings in operations, with reductions of almost 50% in spine surgery and 55% in pelvic surgery compared to traditional mobile C-arms.
Earlier this year, Siemens Healthineers secured FDA approval for the syngo Virtual Cockpit software designed to facilitate real-time remote scanning and collaboration among healthcare professionals.
