April 17, 2012 -- Two hospitals announced treating their first patients with the Curve Image Guided Surgery system by Brainlab, which offers a command and control center for information-guided surgery.
The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center's Neuro-Oncology Clinic use the Curve for advanced neurosurgery procedures to help detect and remove brain tumors and other disorders. UCSF Medical Center is one of the top hospitals in the nation in neurology and neurosurgery with the largest brain tumor treatment program in the United States. The Center has led many advances in treatments, including brain mapping, which has significantly improved the outcome for patients with brain and spinal cord tumors. Brain mapping enables doctors to remove as much of a tumor as possible while minimizing the impact on the crucial areas of the brain that control movement, speech and the senses.
Mitchel S. Berger, M.D., FACS, FAANS, an internationally renowned expert in the treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at UCSF and upcoming new president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), comments on the implementation of Curve at UCSF Medical Center:
"By using advanced image-guided navigation technology like Curve by Brainlab, we are able to better apply our brain mapping technique on patients. Curve enables us [surgeons] to more accurately target tumor dissection down to the smallest degree by providing high definition screens and inline views that are just beautiful," Berger said. "This helps to improve our ultimate goal of removing all or most of the tumor without producing permanent neurological deficit in the patient."
Swedish Covenant Hospital announced the success of its first prone occipital brain tumor case using Curve Image Guided Surgery by Brainlab, the ultimate command and control center for information-guided surgery.
"Having the option to use image guidance for a prone, occipital brain tumor case without fiducials increases the flexibility and visualization in these types of procedures, and makes me very confident about the surgery and patient outcome," said Jerrel Boyer, M.D., neurosurgeon, Swedish Covenant Hospital, (Chicago, IL).
"For the procedure, we placed the patient in the prone position which offers the best visualization of the surgical area. The Curve camera can telescope down to a low height, offering easy registration for navigation even when the patient is lying in the prone position. I was able to review the patient scans using the Curve Interactive DICOM Viewer and then load the image data into the navigation software. The Curve touch screen made manipulation of the scans easy and smooth," explained Boyer.
Brainlab Curve features the latest image guidance software powering advanced 3-D displays and hallmark Brainlab image enrichment. This advanced technology allows ultra-fast image updating when tracking instruments, which promotes intra-operative confidence.
"I was very confident with the accuracy I achieved when registering this patient with the image guidance system. The two extra large touch screens and the smart features like Auto Zoom were especially advantageous. I look forward to utilizing the full capabilities of Curve, including microscope integration, PACS connection, and the Capture, Encode, Record, Stream (CERS) functionality, in future cases," added Boyer. CERS allows surgeons to record anything displayed on a Curve monitor including the Interactive DICOM viewer, navigation software, and external sources plugged into Curve, such as endoscopes or microscopes. Surgeons can access these records for research and teaching purposes, and viewing at a later date. These recordings can be downloaded from the CERS Web portal, or exported directly from Curve itself.
Curve integrates a user-centered design approach, offering easy set-up for staff and straightforward integration for surgeons. Brainlab is challenging conventional surgical utility incorporating great ergonomics, two game-changing, multi-directional touch terminals, digital HD, hi-fi and wi-fi (FDA-pending).
"Curve Image Guided Surgery technology is a true industry-leading innovation," said Anthony Guaccio, chief operating officer, Swedish Covenant Hospital. "Curve is an all-encompassing technology that not only enables the collection of vital patient data, but it allows surgeons to seamlessly use and integrate this data intra-operatively in order to provide ultimate patient care and outcomes."
For more information: www.brainlabcurve.com
March 13, 2026 
