Quality Ablation at Barmherzige Schwestern Hospital in Vienna
In spring 2024, Dr. Helmut Kopf started using the CAS-One IR system, completing numerous successful liver and kidney treatments. Due to the positive experiences and outcomes, the hospital has acquired the system and issued a press release. At the IROS 2025 congress, Dr. Kopf already highlighted the various advantages of using the stereotactic navigation and decision support system in performing percutaneous tumor ablations.
Site director and senior IR consultant, Dr. Helmut Kopf, MSc, with the CAS-One IR system
Excerpt of press release from Barmherzige Schwestern Hospital in Vienna (see original release here)
Artificial Intelligence in Interventional Radiology
The Barmherzige Schwestern Hospital in Vienna is a specialized clinic for cancer treatments offered by the oncology, surgery, urology departments, along with a renowned Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology. This department has now received a significant upgrade with the acquisition of an AI-based navigation and decision-support system for percutaneous tumor ablations. The new system enables the team to treat more patients with evidently better outcomes.
Improved Visualization, Precision, and Quality Control
Percutaneous tumor ablation is a minimally invasive, image-guided treatment where interventional radiologists place ablation probes into tumors to destroy them with heat or cold. The new system entails artificial intelligence supporting the visualization of critical anatomical structures in 2D/3D views, enabling better planning for complex treatments. Through stereotactic navigation, ablation probes can be placed even more precisely in tumors. After the treatment, the success of the procedure can be more accurately assessed.
Third Hospital in Austria
Site director and senior IR consultant Dr. Helmut Kopf, MSc, has already used the system multiple times for tumor treatments. Together with the department head Univ. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schima, MSc, and the medical director Univ. Prof. Dr. Mag. Alexander Klaus, he welcomes the investment in this innovative and valuable technology. "With this system, we can now target liver tumors visible only in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with pinpoint accuracy using image fusion and stereotaxy and can verify the ablation results with the support of artificial intelligence", explains Dr. Kopf. "This allows us to treat even more complex cases with higher confidence, standardize our treatment approach further, make better decisions, and ensure the tumor tissue has been completely destroyed." Another advantage of this technology is that the clinical team is no longer exposed to radiation.
The CAS-One® IR technology is now in use in 70 clinics worldwide. These include renowned institutions such as MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston (USA) and Stockholm University Hospital (Sweden). The Barmherzige Schwestern Vienna have decided to acquire the system, making it the third hospital in Austria, following the AKH Vienna and the University Hospital Graz.
Presentation at IROS 2025
At the IROS 2025 congress in Salzburg, Austria, Dr. Kopf presented the key advantages of CAS-One IR in addressing common challenges in (HCC) tumor ablation to the scientific audience. He concluded that this technology is essential for delivering standardized, precise, and effective treatments. Additionally, it supports younger and less experienced interventionalists in safely performing complex procedures while consistently achieving good outcomes.
We look forward to many more successful patient treatments with CAS-One IR and insightful presentations from Dr. Kopf and his team.