Chicago-based Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush spine surgeon Frank Phillips, MD, performed an augmented reality-assisted minimally invasive spine surgery in the world June 15.
What you should know:
1. Dr. Phillips used the Augmedics xvision Spine System surgical guidance system for the procedure.
2. The system allows a surgeon to see a patient's 3D spinal anatomy projected onto their body, like if X-ray vision was a reality.
3. Dr. Phillips used the system on a patient who had severe back pain and limited mobility. He said the patient is doing well.
He commented on the AR-assisted system saying, "Having 3D spinal anatomic and 2D CT scan images directly projected onto the surgeon’s retina and superimposed over the surgical field takes spinal surgery to another level."
4. Augmedics' device is FDA-cleared. In a percutaneous cadaver study led by Camilo A. Molina, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Mediicne in Baltimore showed that surgeons placed screws with 98.9 percent accuracy. The study is published in the Journal of Neurosurgery and you can read more here.