a-spine-robotic-assisted-navigation-system-for-pedicle-screw-placement

A Spine Robotic-Assisted Navigation System for Pedicle Screw Placement

Pedicle screw implantation has excellent treatment effects and is often used by surgeons in spinal fusion surgery. However, due to the complexity of human ...

National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch

Recent technical developments have resulted in robotic-assisted pedicle screw placement techniques. However, the use of robotic-assisted navigational techniques is still subject to controversy. This study aims to assess the accuracy and safety of a self-developed navigation system, the point spine navigation system (PSNS), for robotic-assisted pedicle screw placement surgery. Fifty-nine pedicle screws were implanted in three porcine vertebrae at the T6-T10 and L1-L5 levels, with the assistance of the PSNS. The navigation and planning system provides virtual surgical guide images, including sagittal, coronal, axial, oblique planes, and customized three-dimensional reconstructions for each vertebra to establish accurate pedicle screw trajectories and placement tracts. After pedicle screw placement, post-operative spiral computer tomographic scans were performed and screws were evaluated using the Gertzbein-Robbins classification. Differences between the actual pedicle screw position and pre-operative planning paths, including the angle, shortest distance, and entry trajectory were recorded. The 59 pedicle screw placements were all within a safe zone, and there was no spinal canal perforation or any other damage under postoperative computed tomography image data. Fifty-one screws were categorized as group A, seven screws were noted as group B, and one screw was identified as group E under the Gertzbein-Robbins classification. The mean entry point deviation was 2.71 ± 1.72°, mean trajectory distance was 1.56 ± 0.66 mm, and average shortest distance between two paths was 0.96 ± 0.73 mm. Pedicle placement remains a challenging procedure with high reported incidences of nerve and vascular injuries. The implementation of a robotic-assisted navigational system yields an acceptable level of accuracy and safety for the pedicle screw placement surgery.

Results of using robotic-assisted navigational system in pedicle screw placement.

Simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (SBTKA) increases the rates of procedure-related complications and mortality compared with unilateral TKA. There are no well-defined guidelines for selecting patients to avoid mortality and proposing an upgrade treatment to decrease complication rates. This study aimed to evaluate whether optimal perioperative management could improve the safety of SBTKA. From 2005 to 2017, 1,166 cases of SBTKA were identified from 14,209 TKA procedures. We retrospectively examined the SBTKA patients' demographics, comorbidity profiles, procedure-related complications, and perioperative management during two time periods. Optimal perioperative workup for managing SBTKA significantly decreased the incidences of major complication from 6.2 to 2.4% ( = 0.001) and minor complications from 28.9 to 21.5% ( = 0.004) during period I and period II, respectively. The efficiency of less tourniquet use along with intraarticular tranexamic acid injection was demonstrated by the decreases of hemoglobin (Hb) change in the first 2 days after surgery ( = 0.005) and blood transfusion requirement ( = 0.035) during the SBTKA. Furthermore, the less tourniquet use group had less thigh pain (visual analog scale decreased from 6.0 to 4.2,  = 0.003), shorter duration of hospital stay (decreased from 7.8 to 7.1,  < 0.001), and lower coagulation time (decrease from 3.5 to 2.9,  < 0.001) than the routine tourniquet use group. Patient's screening must be performed carefully for cardiopulmonary compromise in patients aged >80 years and with an American Society of Anesthesiologists score of 3. Additionally, hospitalists should consider developing methods for the eligibility, testing, and perioperative monitoring of patients who undergo SBTKA with the aim of avoiding complications and improving outcomes.

Tze-hong Wong

Department of Orthopedic Surgery

National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch

A Spine Robotic-Assisted Navigation System for Pedicle Screw Placement

Tze-hong Wong

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Orthopedic Surgery

National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch

A Spine Robotic-Assisted Navigation System for Pedicle Screw Placement

Department of Orthopedic Surgery