NuVasive, a spine technology innovation company, focused on transforming spine surgery with minimally disruptive, procedurally integrated solutions, recently announced its LessRay® radiation reduction and workflow enhancement platform was voted a gold winner in the advanced surgical instruments category at the 2019 Edison Awards™ held in New York City.
The LessRay platform is built on a proprietary algorithm that captures and enhances low-dose, low-quality images to produce images with similar diagnostic capabilities as conventional full-dose images. This technology has the ability to reduce radiation emissions to the operating room (OR) staff and patient by 75 per cent compared to standard fluoroscopy [1]. Also included in this multi-functional platform are tools designed to increase OR efficiency through streamlined surgical workflow and redefined anatomical visualisation. LessRay is part of the Surgical Intelligence™ ecosystem, an assembly of technologies to help surgeons deliver safer, faster and smarter surgery. LessRay will be integrated with neuromonitoring, planning, rod-bending, navigation and automation to create the Pulse™ surgical automation platform, set to launch later this year, helping bring Surgical Intelligence to life in the OR.
Increased radiation exposure and limited imaging capabilities are some of the many barriers faced in adopting minimally invasive surgery (MIS). LessRay is designed to maintain the diagnostic image quality and anatomical visualisation necessary to perform MIS procedures. This platform further accelerates the adoption of MIS to enable potential patient benefits, including decreased blood loss, lower risk of infection and faster recovery time.
“Studies show surgeons can receive their lifetime occupational radiation limit within the first decade of their career, and NuVasive is proud to play an integral role in building a safer OR experience for surgeons, staff and patients,” said Matt Link, president of NuVasive. “We are honoured to be recognized by the Edison Awards for the LessRay platform. This is a meaningful testament to NuVasive’s ongoing commitment and leadership in innovating technologies to deliver better, more reproducible clinical outcomes in spine surgery.”
The Edison Awards is an annual competition designed to honour excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centred design and innovation. Winners represent “game changing” products, services, excellence and leadership in innovation around four criteria: Concept, Value, Delivery and Impact.
Reference: Wang TY, Farber SH, Perkins SS, et al. An internally randomized control trial of radiation exposure using ultra-low radiation imaging (ULRI) versus traditional C-arm fluoroscopy for patients undergoing single-level minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion. Spine 2017;42(4);217-23.
