Here are eight minimally invasive spine surgery devices and technologies making a splash in the industry.
Dr. Roger Härtl most experienced Airo system surgeon in northeastern US
Roger Härtl, MD, has utilized the Airo system — developed by Munich, Germany-based Brainlab and Shirley, Mass.-based Mobius — in more procedures than any other surgeon in the northeastern United States. He has used the Airo system, which features a doughnut-shaped scanner that captures a full spinal scan in 30 seconds, for more than 250 procedures.
Globus Medical earns CE Mark for Excelsius GPS
Audubon, Pa.-based Globus Medical received the CE Mark for its Excelsius GPS, which offers robotic trajectory guidance and navigation. The technology is designed for minimally invasive and open orthopedic and neurosurgical procedures, to reduce radiation exposure, streamline workflow and guide implant placement.
Barrow Brain and Spine incorporates Surgical Theater's Precision Virtual Reality
Phoenix-based Barrow Brain and Spine physicians became the first in the southwest to use Surgical Theater's Precision Virtual Reality medical visualization platform. Precision VR is designed to help patients visualize and comprehend medical conditions by helping them understand treatment plans and develop a path to a smooth recovery.
Scripps Encinitas 1st in the West to perform spine surgery with Mazor X
Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas (Calif.) surgeons performed lumbar spinal fusion surgery utilizing the Mazor X robotic system. Neville Alleyne, MD, and Payam Moazzaz, MD, performed the procedure on Jan. 10, 2017. Mazor X aids surgeons with preoperative treatment plans; automated alignment calculations; and intraoperative guidance and verification.
Augmented reality: Philips introduces new spine navigation technology
Philips, headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, unveiled augmented reality surgical navigation technology for open and minimally invasive spine surgery. techseen reports the navigation system "combines the external view captured by the cameras and the internal 3-D view of the patient acquired by the X-ray system to construct a 3-D augmented reality view of the patient's external and internal anatomy."
Dr. Dante Leven implants SpineFrontier's cervical interbody for MIS procedure
Dante Leven, DO, of Malden, Mass.-based Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, implanted Malden-based SpineFrontier's A-CIFT Solofuse-P during an anterior cervical discectomy. He commented that the implant offers a "minimally invasive surgical technique to fuse the cervical spine." The technology features a larger graft window, which enhances graft volume.
Dr. Henry Ruiz 1st surgeon in Alabama to use Expanding Orthopedics' FLXfit cage
Henry Ruiz, MD, of Gadsden (Ala.) Regional Medical Center, became the first surgeon in the state to use Israel-based Expanding Orthopedics' FLXfit 3-D Expandable Cage, which features a large surface area and an articulation mechanism which allows surgeons to place the cage in the front of the disc space to expand. Dr. Ruiz commented expandable cages offer a particular benefit for patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery.
Surgeons perform Mexico's 1st spine surgery with VTI's InterFuse
A neurosurgeon from Hospital AIR — based in the Villahermosa, Tabasco region of northern Mexico — performed the nation's first spine surgery utilizing VTI's InterFuse device. Dr. José Antonio Pedrero Gil performed the lumbar fusion procedure on a patient with Grade 2 spondylolisthesis. VTI partnered with Mexico-based BioMedical Technologies in September 2016 to offer less-invasive surgical solutions to surgeons in the country.