Robot-guided spinal surgery benefits patients by not only lowering tissue damage but also minimising recovery time. Bhawna Rath looks into how robotic technology is making inroads into spinal surgery.
Robotic technology is one of the greatest new advances in orthopaedic surgery, especially within spinal surgery. To begin looking into this new trend, let’s start with something that has been around for a while, such as the use of computers as a form of navigation. Industry experts at Allied Market Research say computer navigation is the single biggest advance when it comes to spinal surgery in the past 16 years. It has enabled doctors to shift from rudimentary or traditional medical devices, ranging from alignment tools and cutting platforms to robots that provide both precision as well as accuracy.
Spinal surgeries can be extremely dangerous as the spine is close to the blood vessels and nerves. Moshe Shoham, founder and chief technical officer of Mazor Robotics, explains that if we are to look at statistics of hand surgeries, the cases of misplaced screws and nerve damage accounts for about 10 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. Mazor Surgical Technologies was identified as an authorised manufacturer and marketer of SpineAssist, a miniature robot that ensures fail-proof spinal surgery in 2005. Expressing his sentiments about the product Shoham said: “SpineAssist minimises the risk of working free-hand in sensitive regions of the spine.”
The professor highlights that robotics has completely revolutionized the spinal surgery. He added, “It conceives a plan for locating the spinal implants, but neither replaces the surgeon nor performs any operations. After examining and approving the recommendation, the surgeon inserts surgical instruments through the arm of the robot, thereby minimising the danger of damaging vital organs.”
The technology also ensures less fluoroscopy, a more speedy recovery as well as less invasive procedures. Furthermore, the technology provides paramount results for the patients, doctors and the medical institution. Can the robots help the doctor limit the number of vertebras the surgeon wants to fuse? Definitely, this is where the machine plays into the support plan. Robots have increased the safety as well as accuracy of surgery and the technology has opened new avenues for the orthopaedic devices market.
Neurosurgeon Juan Torres-Reveron performed the first ROSA spine surgery in May 2016 in the USA. Torres-Reveron believes robotic spine surgery will bring about a dramatic shift in how medical practitioners perform minimally invasive surgery. Commenting on the computer–assisted surgery, Torres-Reveron said: “It’s just a computer. If anything, the hardest part is going to be trusting. You have to trust the robot and believe it’s going to be correct.”
Control in the orthopaedic devices market
Spine surgeons are always expected to be in