31 October 2006
All-in-one centre will make brain surgery easier (ST, 31 October 2006)

AN UPCOMING neuroscience centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is expected to make brain and spinal surgery here easier, cheaper and more accurate.

It will allow surgeons to look at precise images of a patient's brain before, during and immediately after surgery - making it easier to decide whether further procedures are needed.

This will translate to better results and patient care, said Dr Ivan Ng, head of the neurosurgery department at the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI).

'It will also lower costs as we won't have to take patients back to the operating theatre again and again until the job is done,' he said.

An agreement to set up the digitally integrated centre by the end of next year was signed yesterday by Singapore Health Services and German company BrainLAB.

Described as a 'neurosurgeon's dream', it will be the world's first integrated neuroscience centre.

The five-suite facility will offer high-quality intra-operative magnetic resonance imaging in real-time, computed tomography scanning and an advanced image-guidance navigation system - which, in layman's terms, means that surgeons will be able to closely view the progress of the operation.

Also housed at the new centre will be an advanced system that beams radiation at all angles to shrink hard-to-reach tumours 'without causing collateral damage' to other cells in the brain, Dr Ng said.

The integrated centre will be located at Block3 of SGH, the major operating theatre complex, which currently houses 22 operating rooms.

NNI sees most of the 3,000 neurosurgery patients in Singapore every year.

NNI director Lee Wei Ling said the new centre would be a neurosurgeon's dream operating environment.

'Such a facility at SGH underlines our commitment to high quality health care for our patients - not only for those living in Singapore, but also for foreign patients seeking state-of-the-art treatment here,' she added.

BrainLAB chief executive Stefan Vilsmeier said that while there are other top-class facilities in the United States, Europe and Japan, they each specialise in different neurosurgery treatments.

'Singapore was picked for the integrated neuroscience centre because it is driven by technology. It is a place where technology is readily accepted,' he explained.

BrainLAB specialises in the development and manufacture of medical technology in areas including radiotherapy, neurosurgery and orthopaedics.

Mr Vilsmeier said his engineers would continue to work with surgeons in research and development to ensure that the technology continues to evolve.

It was not revealed how much the new facility would cost, but the estate of the late billionaire banker and hotelier Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat is donating $13million to the project.

'This generous donation potentially allows Singaporeans to be treated with no added cost, compared to the current status,' said NNI's Associate Professor Lee.

The centre will be named the Khoo Teck Puat-Neuronavigation Integrated Operating Suites.

The donated amount and the cost of renovation, borne by SingHealth, will be matched dollar for dollar by the Health Ministry.