Smith & Nephew Introduces System to Eliminate Radiation Exposure During Intramedullary Nail Cases

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics has introduced the TRIGEN SURESHOT Distal Targeting System, a small, portable device that can eliminate a significant amount of radiation exposure for orthopedic surgeons during intramedullary nail procedures, according to a Smith & Nephew release.

The 3-D imaging system replaces the radiation-emitting, fluoroscopic c-arm traditionally used during tibial and femoral nail cases to achieve proper distal screw placement. A recent study found that the system eliminated 36 seconds of fluoroscopy exposure (0.785 rads) during tibial fracture cases and 49 seconds during femoral fracture cases (2.362 rads), according to the release.

It was also found that TRIGEN SURESHOT contributed to a first-time drilling accuracy rate of 100 percent in tibia cases and 96 percent in femoral cases, which also reduced distal locking time by 48 percent during tibial nail cases and by 32 percent during femoral nail cases, resulting in less anesthesia and risk of infection for the patients, according to the release.

The portability of the TRIGEN SURESHOT also eliminates the need to reposition the patient's leg in order to achieve continuous visualization, according to the release. This is a common requirement during fluoroscopic c-arm use and it can lead to fracture misalignment and the need to re-reduce the patient's fracture.

The TRIGEN SURESHOT is designed to work with the TRIGEN META-NAIL system.

Read the release on the TRIGEN SURESHOT Distal Targeting System.