Loop-X Imaging System Earns Coveted Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020

Brainlab, one of the world’s leading specialists for software-based medical technology, announced that Loop-X™, developed in close collaboration with Austrian company medPhoton, received the coveted Red Dot Award in Product Design 2020. The jury was particularly impressed by the outstanding, space-saving design and its sophisticated mobile robotic functionality. With this device, both companies set a new standard in concept and technology for intraoperative 2D and 3D imaging. At first glance, Loop-X stands out with its striking ring-shaped design and radial arrangement of radiation source and detector.

Thanks to its slim design and large gantry opening, Loop-X Mobile Imaging Robot can flexibly position patients. The shapely construction of its closed ring is highly stable and supports precise image quality. With the extra-large detector and the independently moving X-Ray source, the device achieves a large, three dimensional field of view, giving insights into larger areas of anatomy with just one scan. With its compact design, Loop-X is easy to maneuver and can therefore be quickly transported between different operating rooms. The wireless remote control in the form of an intuitive tablet device also contributes to its ease-of-use.

The Red Dot Jury honors “intelligent functionality”¹

With automated steps and robotic controls, the system works hand-in-hand with the surgical team. In this way, the entire procedure benefits from the system’s agility and efficiency. “Loop-X Mobile Imaging Robot captivates with its space-saving, minimalistic design and intelligent functionality which supports mobile robotic imaging in the operating room,” said the Red Dot Award Jury upon presenting the award¹. The 40-member international panel evaluated 6,500 entries and awarded the coveted seal of quality for design to the best products in each respective category. Brainlab has already received the Red Dot Award three times: Curve® won for its user-oriented design in 2012, Airo® for its unique design for imaging systems in 2014 and the straightforward construction and mobility of Kick® and Kick EM® earned them the award in 2015.

“We are very proud of this award. With Loop-X, we have succeeded in combining new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, augmented reality and spatial computing with a high degree of flexibility and within a sophisticated design,” commented Stefan Vilsmeier, Brainlab President & CEO.

Construction and robotics reduce beam volume and increase image quality

Due to its construction and robotics, the X-Rays of Loop-X can be focused on the region of the body in which the surgeon requires those images. Special algorithms also make it possible to continuously change the direction and size of the X-Ray beams to always focus on the targeted region. This can work to protect the surrounding tissue and, at the same time, improve the image quality due to reduced scatter radiation. Its automated robotics also support optimized workflow steps in the operating room, allowing Loop-X to move automatically into stored parking and imaging positions.

Close partnership with Salzburg company medPhoton

The Loop-X imaging robot was developed by medPhoton in close collaboration with Brainlab, a strategic investor in the Salzburg-based company and its exclusive sales partner for Loop-X in the field of surgery. Both companies have agree to work closely together in the future with the aim of creating technological synergies for the benefit of surgeons and their patients.

For more information, visit brainlab.com/surgery-products/overview-platform-products/robotic-intraoperative-mobile-cbct/