Intuitive Surgical Gets FDA Clearance For Expanded Use Of Firefly - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) announced Monday that it received FDA 510(k) clearance for expanded use of its da Vinci Fluorescence Imaging Vision System or Firefly for the da Vinci Surgical System. Firefly imaging can now be used during gallbladder surgery.

According to the company, the Firefly Fluorescence Imaging Vision System enables surgeons to use a special video camera and glowing dye to view blood flowing in vessels and tissue during minimally invasive surgical procedures. When a surgeon uses the Firefly camera, blood appears green and tissue without blood flow appears gray.

In addition to providing the ability to view blood flow through vessels and tissue, the expanded use now includes real-time imaging of bile ducts (cystic duct, common bile duct and common hepatic duct). The Firefly imaging system is intended for use along with normal white light in imaging of the bile ducts and is not intended for standalone use, the company noted.

Injuries to the common bile duct represent a serious and challenging surgical complication, and most often occur during laparoscopic gallbladder removal. This occurs when the common bile duct is mistaken for the cystic duct, resulting in clipping and division of the common duct, which is then resected with the gallbladder. It is therefore beneficial in minimally invasive surgery to have the ability to properly identify the biliary duct, the company said.