Dr. Stifelman discusses 3D modeling tool for robotic-assisted surgery

In this video, Michael D. Stifelman, MD, highlights Iris, a 3D modeling tool for kidney cancer management. Stifelman is a professor and chair of urology at Hackensack University School of Medicine, the chair of urology for the northern region of Hackensack Meridian Health, and the director of robotic surgery for Hackensack Meridian Health.

Video Transcript:

Iris is another name or tool called 3D modeling. So, we take cross-sectional imaging, and we create a 3D model that we can literally bring into the robotic console as we do the surgery. What it allows us to do is to get a much better representation of what's underneath the organ. So, for example, if you're going to remove a kidney tumor, Iris allows us to tell us in very, very granular detail, the arterial anatomy, the venous anatomy, the collecting system anatomy, [and] also where the tumor is located and how it is interacting with those different structures. So, we can get not only a better representation of what part of the kidney to clamp and what we don't have to clamp, but also what we're going to encounter as we cut the tumor out. What we've shown with our data and through our experience, is that by using this technology, we're able to preserve more normal kidney and disrupt less of the normal kidney. So, basically, we leave people with similar outcomes in terms of taking out the cancer, but better kidney preservation.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.