Live X-Rays Assist Surgeons at Brookings Health System

  • May 23, 2016

Dr. Trevor Haynes, podiatrist at Avera Medical Group, performs a procedure on a patient’s foot in Brookings Health System’s operating room with the aid of the new mini C-arm fluoroscope. The live, video-like X-ray technology allows surgeons to view patient anatomy on a screen in real-time, helping them guide instruments during procedures and place medical implants, such as screws, wires or plates.
Dr. Trevor Haynes, podiatrist at Avera Medical Group, performs a procedure on a patient’s foot in Brookings Health System’s operating room with the aid of the new mini C-arm fluoroscope. The live, video-like X-ray technology allows surgeons to view patient anatomy on a screen in real-time, helping them guide instruments during procedures and place medical implants, such as screws, wires or plates.

Brookings Health System recently acquired a new mini C-arm fluoroscope, a real-time X-ray system that aids physicians during surgical or interventional procedures.

Surgeons use the mini C-arm technology to provide live, video-like X-rays and enable them to view patient anatomy in real-time. Seeing patient anatomy helps surgeons guide instrumentation during procedures and place needed medical implants, such as screws, wires or plates. Surgeons directly control the C-arm system, making sure they see the exact area they need to treat.

Live X-rays using the mini C-arm are most commonly taken during sports medicine, orthopedic and podiatric surgical procedures, especially those that involve the limbs, hands and feet. Common procedures at Brookings Health include bunion surgery, hammer toe surgery, foot and ankle fractures, plantar fasciotomies, spur removals and bone fusions.

The new mini C-arm fluoroscope shows high-resolution, detailed images on a video screen while exposing patients to the lowest possible amount of X-ray dose. All images are stored on Brookings Health System’s picture archiving and communication system (PACS), making it easy to share images with any physician.

For more information on surgical or imaging procedures at Brookings Health System, please visit www.brookingshealth.org.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.