LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Breakthrough imaging equipment in two new procedure rooms at Norton Brownsboro Hospital provides 3D pictures of the inside of the brain, giving neurosurgeons detailed, multi-angle views of blood vessels causing strokes and aneurysms.

“When you’re dealing with brain vessels, blood flow, and strokes, every single second counts,” said Dr. Tom Yao, a neurosurgeon with Norton Neuroscience Institute.

Using new biplane X-ray technology, which uses two rotating cameras, Norton Neuroscience Institute specialists can identify and analyze these diseases. The equipment, which provides high-resolution imaging and computational ability, not only allows surgeons to see the vessels better but also simulates how medical devices will fit before they’re ever used in the patient.

“Any procedure really anytime you can see things better, anytime that you can have more information, it just makes things safer,” said Yao.

Norton Brownsboro is one of the first in the country to install equipment that provides 3D images of parts of the brain. 

The biplane X-ray tubes and computer software recently received Food and Drug Administration approval and represent the newest iteration of virtual and 3D modeling. Norton Brownsboro Hospital is the eighth in the country to receive the equipment and is the only hospital in the nation to install two of this type in biplane rooms in one facility.

The biplane equipment uses two X-ray tubes — each rotating around the patient — capturing images simultaneously. When combined digitally, the two sets of images form a 3D picture of the area in fine detail. It also allows for situations that can determine the best course of treatment.

The new imaging equipment is installed in Norton Brownsboro Hospital’s two hybrid biplane rooms. In these hybrid rooms, doctors can perform interventional procedures, such as treating a clot or bleed through an artery in the leg or wrist, or open up the skull if necessary, without the delay and stress of moving the patient to a separate area for surgery.

“It saves time especially during critical operations. It gives us another option to evaluate our operative result immediately without any downtime delay," Yao said.

Norton Brownsboro Hospital is certified as a Comprehensive stroke center by the joint commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.