Siemens Healthineers has nabbed U.S. FDA clearance for CIARTIC Move, a mobile C-arm with self-driving features. This system streamlines 2D fluoroscopic and 3D cone-beam CT imaging in surgical settings, improving efficiency and cutting down imaging time. It’s designed primarily for orthopedic, trauma, and spine surgeries but is also applicable to thoracic, vascular, cardiovascular, general surgery, urology, and interventional pulmonology.

“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,” says April Grandominico, vice president for surgical therapies in the Advanced Therapies business at Siemens Healthineers North America.

The CIARTIC Move can help overcome challenges associated with intraoperative imaging due to staff shortages and overwhelmed surgical teams in the operating room (OR). In many OR procedures, frequent repositioning of the C-arm is necessary to provide surgeons with precise anatomical views. Traditional mobile C-arms require manual repositioning, which can be stressful, time-consuming, and prone to errors.

Whats’ more, the CIARTIC Move is fully motorized with self-driving capabilities, simplifying imaging workflows and ensuring consistency. It reduces the need for manual movement and positioning of the C-arm, storing up to 12 procedure-specific positions and imaging parameters for easy recall. This automation streamlines communication between the surgeon and OR team, making it easier to reproduce images and return the C-arm to desired positions. Preclinical tests have shown significant time savings during surgeries, such as nearly 50% in spine surgery and 55% in pelvic surgery compared to traditional mobile C-arms. Additionally, a single user can operate the system remotely via wireless control, even from within the sterile field.

Finally, the system’s fully motorized chassis and touch-sense handles allow for easy movement. It incorporates active sensing technology to prevent collisions by scanning for obstacles during transport mode and halting all motorized movement upon detection.