Your spine surgery may involve the placement of screws or other implants in the spine. Traditionally, these are placed freehand or with X-ray guidance. Despite careful technique, there is a chance of implants being placed in an inaccurate position – posing a risk to the spinal cord, spinal nerves or other structures.
Spinal navigation uses modern computer technology to increase the accuracy of placement – increasing safety. The O-arm/Stealth system is one of 2 main systems that Dr Ball can use for your surgery. The choice of system depends primarily on the type of surgery required. Both have demonstrated high rates of accuracy.
The system consists of the O-arm (Mobile CT type scanner) and the Stealth Navigation System.
O-arm™ with Stealth™ (Medtronic™ )
The O-arm™ is an intra-operative ‘CT scanner’ which is used to take a scan of the patients spine. This scan provides a ‘map’ of the patients spine and is transferred to the Stealth™ navigation system.
The instruments used in the surgery are visible to the Stealth™ Station which shows the location and direction of the instruments on the 3D scan to guide the surgery.
The image demonstrates the Stealth™ Station indicating the location of the instruments on the scan.