Quincy, Ill.-based Blessing Hospital has installed a Mazor X robot to assist surgeons during spine procedures, NBC affiliate WGEM reported Oct. 2.
"Not only is it more accurate for the patient, but because we're not having to move the muscles around as much, it's much less painful," Neil Wright, MD, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, told WGEM.
"It used to be with the open fusions, patients would be in the hospital for four or five days. Now they're going home the next day."
Designed by Medtronic, Mazor X combines preoperative planning tools and analytics with intraoperative guidance to facilitate the implantation of pedicle screws.
The robot is primarily indicated for lumbar spine procedures. It is expected to expand to all spine surgeries in the near future.