A new device that attaches to eyeglasses has been designed to provide fluoroscopic guidance during spine surgery, Medical Xpress reports.
The picoLinker device, designed by medical technology company Westunitis, displays real-time fluoroscopic images within the surgeon's visual field.
In a study published Oct. 13 in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, Keitaro Matsukawa, MD, PhD, and Yoshiyuki Yato, MD, PhD, of Murayama Medical Center in Tokyo, evaluated the device in patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion at the L5-S1.
The same surgeon operated on all 20 patients in the study, performing half the procedures with the device and the other half without it.
The picoLinker surgeries resulted in shorter OR times and less radiation exposure, according to researchers.
One intraoperative complication was noted in the study — a perforated screw that occured when the surgeon was not wearing the device.
Researchers found "concentration" and "information centralization" to be the device's two main advantages, improving "ergonomic efficiency" by allowing surgeons to focus on operative tasks.
Click here for further details on the study.