Brainlab and SurgiVision Announce Strategic Alliance in MRI-Guided Drug Delivery and Other Interventional MRI Technologies in Neurosurgery

MUNICH, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Brainlab AG and SurgiVision, Inc. today announced a collaboration aimed at integrating SurgiVision's ClearPoint® product line with Brainlab's iMRI product line, with particular focus on local delivery of drugs and other therapeutic agents to precision targets in the brain under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance.

Brainlab and SurgiVision believe the integration of their technologies will allow patient-specific treatment planning, simplified clinical workflows and optimal delivery of drugs to the brain.  Under the terms of the agreement, Brainlab also received the right to sell SurgiVision's ClearPoint product line, including the right to exclusively sell ClearPoint products in the neurological drug delivery field, and Brainlab made an investment into SurgiVision.  SurgiVision will continue to sell its ClearPoint product line directly for all applications outside the neurological drug delivery field.

SurgiVision's ClearPoint system provides guidance for the placement and operation of instruments during neurological procedures performed within the MRI environment.  Using the ClearPoint system, a physician sees and selects a neurological target, aims SurgiVision's targeting device and watches via MRI as the surgical instrument is advanced to the target and the therapy is delivered.  SurgiVision's ClearPoint system has received both FDA clearance and CE Mark.  SurgiVision also recently received FDA clearance for its SmartFlow™ injection cannula.

Brainlab's Brainsuite® iMRI integrates intra-operative MRI with surgical planning and ceiling-mounted navigation, allowing full utilization of intra-operative data for making informed decisions  during the procedure.  iPlan® Flow enables neurosurgeons to optimize local drug delivery to the CNS, based on patient specific imaging.

"Direct, image-guided delivery of therapeutic agents into the brain provides the next generation platform for delivering a wide range of promising therapies for patients suffering from CNS disorders such as Parkinson's disease and malignant brain tumors," said Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz, Vice Chair and Professor, Department of Neurosurgery and Director of the NeuroTherapeutics Delivery Center at the University of California San Francisco.  "This collaboration between two important players in the field is welcome news to pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and researchers with therapeutic agents that need to be delivered in a targeted, patient-specific, image-guided fashion."

"MRI guided interventions is an important, emerging area of medicine.  We are excited about the partnership with SurgiVision, the integration of our technologies in functional neurosurgery, and the opportunity to offer these innovative solutions to customers through our global sales network," said Stefan Vilsmeier, CEO of Brainlab.

"We are very pleased to announce this collaboration with Brainlab, a pioneer and leader in image-guided interventions," said Kimble Jenkins, CEO of SurgiVision.  "Together with our new partner, we are excited about providing to clinicians powerful, new capabilities in targeted drug delivery and other MRI-guided therapies to benefit patients who suffer from CNS disorders."

About Brainlab

Brainlab develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology that supports targeted, less-invasive treatment. Brainlab technology drives collaboration between hospitals and clinicians from a wide variety of subspecialties—from neurosurgery and oncology to orthopedics, ENT, CMF and spine & trauma. This integration delivers better access to improved and more efficient treatment. Founded in 1989, the privately held Brainlab group has 5,260 systems installed in over 80 countries. Based in Munich, Germany, Brainlab employs 950 people, including 240 R&D engineers on the product development team, in 16 offices worldwide.

About SurgiVision

Founded in 1998, SurgiVision, Inc. is a leader in the emerging field of MRI-guided interventions, creating innovative platforms for performing the next generation of minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain and heart.  Utilizing a hospital's existing MRI suite, SurgiVision's FDA-cleared ClearPoint® system is designed to enable a range of minimally invasive procedures in the brain.  In partnership with Siemens Healthcare, SurgiVision is developing the ClearTrace™ system to enable MRI-guided catheter ablations to treat cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. Building on the imaging power of MRI, SurgiVision's interventional platforms strive to improve patient outcomes while reducing procedure costs and times. SurgiVision is also working with Boston Scientific Corporation to incorporate SurgiVision's MRI-safety technologies into Boston Scientific's implantable leads for cardiac and neurological applications.

SOURCE Brainlab