Covenant Health Brings Brain Mapping Technology to West Texas

Covenant Medical Center is the first medical facility in the region to provide technology that will allow for safer brain and spinal surgeries

Lubbock, TX (September 11, 2018) – Covenant Health has become only the second health system in the state of Texas to adopt Synaptive Medical’s BrightMatter™ technology, allowing their surgeons to perform more brain and spinal surgeries with a higher success rate.

Synaptive’s surgical solution includes a highly detailed imaging and robotic positioning system with sensor-driven tools which can be oriented in positions never before possible, or even imagined, by microscopes. This new technology enables surgeons to navigate the brain during surgery through the use of dynamic, three-dimensional images. BrightMatter automatically maps and highlights all the tracts in the brain for surgical planning.

A 3D image of each patient’s brain allows a much more personalized approach to each surgery. This technology allows their surgeons to create smaller incisions, which may reduce recovery time and help surgeons to avoid important structures in the brain.

“The acquisition of Synaptive’s Modus V™ robot and their BrightMatter solution gives us the unprecedented capability of not only visualizing critical brain fiber pathways and their relationships to brain tumors but also provides a fantastic new capability to remove these tumors with unparalleled safety and efficiency,” Covenant Neurosurgeon Dr. Harold Smith said. “This has led to improved patient outcomes, a much lower complication rate and shorter lengths of stay.”

“With Synaptive technology, we can provide better outcomes for our patients who need to have brain surgery,” Covenant Medical Center CEO Walt Cathey said. “The people of West Texas deserve to have this technology available to them, without having to travel hundreds of miles. This device, along with our highly-trained and skilled physicians, will allow us to perform these procedures on an outpatient basis, meaning patients will hopefully go home the same day. Less invasive procedures may potentially improve recovery time and the effectiveness of our surgical interventions.”

This technology is used to operate on brain tumors, aneurysms, vascular lesions and skull-based issues. Modus V’s high powered digital robotic microscope and light source can also be used in minimally invasive spine surgery.

About Covenant Health

Covenant Health has served for 100 years as the only faith-based, clinically integrated health network in the West Texas, eastern New Mexico region providing a Christian healing ministry. Covenant’s network includes seven hospitals, more than 1,000 licensed beds, more than 5,000 employees, nearly 100 primary care providers, and a medical staff of more than 600 physicians at its cornerstone facilities. To learn more about Covenant Health, please visit covenanthealth.org.