Harvinder Sandhu, MD, co-chief of New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery Spine, has been selected to direct the augmented reality spine surgery program at Stamford (Conn.) Health's Bennett Medical Center.
On Jan. 28, Dr. Sandhu performed Stamford Health's first AR spine surgery with the technology, which "enables ultraprecise alignment and positioning of spinal implants through enhanced visualization capabilities," he said in an April 20 news release.
The AR technology features a headset designed to function as if the surgeon has X-ray vision into the patient's anatomy to accurately navigate instruments and implants while looking at the patient instead of a screen.
The system determines the position of surgical tools and superimposes them on the patient's CT data, which is projected onto the surgeon's retina using the headset, allowing them to simultaneously look at the patient and the navigation data.
"The spinal implants can be placed with much less invasive surgery, as we don't have to retract or move muscles and tissue to see a patient's full spine," Dr. Sandhu said.
Stamford Health said it is the only hospital in the tristate area currently offering an AR spine surgery system.
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