Ottawa Hospital world's first to use smallest camera inside blood vessels to treat strokes

The Ottawa Hospital General campus on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. (Jim O'Grady/CTV News Ottawa)

Physicians at The Ottawa Hospital are the first in the world to use the world’s smallest camera during a surgical procedure to treat strokes.

The breakthrough technology entails inserting the device inside the patient’s veins and arteries, allowing physicians to see what’s inside the blood vessels of the brain. It is called stroke technology or the MicroAngioscope.

The MicroAngioscope was used during a procedure to treat a patient who suffered from repeated strokes on Nov. 14, 2023, the hospital said in a media release on Wednesday.

The device’s high-resolution imaging allowed interventional Neuroradiologist Dr. Robert Fahed -- who led the procedure -- to find what’s exactly happening and leading to the strokes, allowing for a tailored treatment approach.

“This opens the door to a new way of practicing this specialty. This also means that now that we can finally see the inside of the vessels, everything needs to be re-explored and redefined,” Dr. Fahed said.

Meanwhile, the new invention, which is slightly thicker than a strand of hair, paves the way for new and innovative treatments for health issues, says Michael Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Vena Medical.

“(It) allows doctors to view diseases within the brain’s vasculature, in full color and in real-time,” said

Phillips.

The Ottawa Hospital’s use of the MicroAngioscope marks a significant development in the field of neurovascular care and across the region, said the release.