If you want to see how fast the world is changing, take a short trip back in time with Brian Olshansky, M.D., and a magnetic imaging technology called Stereotaxis®.

Only a few years ago, Olshansky and his cardiac electrophysiology colleagues (physicians who specialize in understanding and treating abnormalities in the heart's electrical system) were viewed as misfits of sorts, offbeat schemers and dreamers who busied themselves with strange, seemingly impractical concepts and ideas.

At the same time, Stereotaxis was seen as a technological dream. Having originated in the field of neurosurgery-its co-inventor was UI neurosurgeon Matthew Howard, M.D.-the full potential of this novel concept in medicine was unknown.

Flash forward to today and you'll find a sea of change. Olshansky and his fellow cardiac electrophysiologists are misfits no more. Their concepts and techniques have clearly been shown to have valuable patient care applications.

Meanwhile, Stereotaxis has made equally dramatic strides, having successfully been applied and/or evaluatied in many fields beyond just neurosurgery at UI Hospitals and Clinics-everything from urological procedures to general surgery and heart repairs.

Stereotaxis employs robotically controlled magnetic assemblies and advanced computer technology to navigate magnetically tipped catheters (thin, flexible tubes) through the blood vessels and heart. During Stereotaxis procedures, physicians use a joystick to position these catheters and thereby access damaged tissue with pinpoint accuracy.

Olshansky says dramatic further advances in the technology seem possible, pending further research. "The big stumbling block is finding a way to integrate Stereotaxis® with electro-anatomic heart mapping, a technology that enables us to explore the terrain of the heart in unprecedented ways. With cardiac electro-anatomic mapping, we can identify the exact originating site of an electrical malfunction."

The trick is getting cardiac electro-anatomic mapping to work in an integrated way with Stereotaxis. If the two systems could function together, physicians would have an automated Stereotaxis system for performing truly hands-free heart repairs.

"We could map a precise treatment plan in advance, then Stereotaxis would follow the map to make the repairs exactly as planned."

This merger of technologies would result in safer, more accurate heart care procedures that require far less operating room time. "We don't know for sure this system will work but we're very optimistic," Olshansky says. "We see this as one of the most exciting frontiers of opportunity for Stereotaxis technology."