Facts About SPY

 The Top 10 Things You Should Know About SPY Imaging

  1. The SPY Intra-operative Fluorescence Imaging System is an FDA cleared device. SPY was considered to be equivalent to x-ray angiography to assess blood flow in coronary artery bypass grafts.
  2. SPY has since been cleared by the FDA for use in cardiovascular, plastic, reconstructive and micro-surgery and organ tranplant.
  3. SPY is non-invasive, does not involve harmful radiation, is safe for surgical patients and efficient for use in the operating room. Surgeons can image the vessels, tissue and organs at multiple points during the operation as needed, without risk of harm to patient or staff. 
  4. Surgeons use SPY to confirm proper placement and function of bypass grafts, native vessels and microvessels and evaluate blood flow to newly created and native tissue during reconstructive procedures to ensure quality at the time of the operation.
  5. SPY has been featured in more than 30 prestigous medical journals and has been the topic of numerous medical society presentations.
  6. SPY is a proven method of identifying technical problems that can be corrected at the time of surgery and that might have otherwise gone unnoticed in the operating room.
  7. VICTORIA Multi-center Clinical Registry data collected in 7 United States Hospitals demonstrate that fewer complications and fewer instances of prolonged hospital stay occurred following bypass surgery when SPY was used compared to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database Registry.
  8. Because the SPY System is a mobile, integrated unit that can be easily moved from one operating room to another, and is easily operated by surgeons and operating room staff, the cost of providing SPY to patients is not burdened with additional personnel or special facilities.
  9. Medicare data clearly demonstrates that average length of stay in the hospital and cost of care is reduced when SPY is used during bypass surgery.
  10. Because of the number of bypass operations performed in the United States (approximately 300,000), a conservative estimate of the savings demonstrated by CMS could equal more than $840 million dollars in 2010 alone. In 2015, the savings could exceed $4.2 billion dollars.