We are developing a robotic system to assist a surgeon in placing spinal pedicle screws. While several groups have undertaken such systems, our approach differs in that it endeavors to remain as close to current clinical technique as possible, yet achieve stereotactic accuracy. This paper describes the conventional surgical methodology, justifies the need for stereotactic/robotic assistance, an...

The study aimed to establish the safe placement area and corresponding entry angle of atlantal pedicle screw using axial computed tomography (CT) measurement of atlas, in order to guide the clinical operation. Spiral thin-slice CT scan of atlas and three-dimensional reconstruction of 38 patients were randomly selected. Screw placement space was defined as the distance between the tangent lines ...

Background: The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the accuracy of pedicular screw insertion withoutthe use of fluoroscopy.Methods: This study was conducted on patients with spinal diseases in need of pedicular screw fixation and fusion.The included patients suffered from such conditions as vertebral fracture, spinal stenosis, kyphosis, tumor, and pelvicf...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate the application of 3D printing in assisting preoperative plan of pedicle screw placement for treating middle-upper thoracic trauma. METHODS A preoperative plan was implemented in seven patients suffering from middle-upper thoracic (T3-T7) trauma between March 2013 and February 2016. In the 3D printing models, entry points of 56 pedicle screws (Magerl me...

This article describes factors affecting the accuracy of transpedicle screw placements performed with the Renaissance robot-guided system and reviews the relevant literature. Between January 2013 and January 2015, Renaissance robot-guided spinal surgery was performed in 125 patients at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The surgeries included 662 transpedicle screw impl...

STUDY DESIGN A quantitative meta-analysis was conducted on publishing studies reporting results of spinal surgery in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with instrumentation of pedicle screw or hybrid construct. OBJECTIVE The primary objective is to get overview of the power to restore thoracic kyphosis using 2 different instrumentations. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA During the past years, surger...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness between percutaneous and open pedicle screw fixation for treating thoracolumbar fractures with spinal injuries. METHODS A total of 105 patients with thoracolumbar fractures and spinal injuries were divided into a percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (PPSF) group with 56 patients, who underwent percutaneous pedicle screw fix...

STUDY DESIGN This study is a systematic review of published biomechanical studies involving pedicle screw-based posterior dynamic stabilization devices (PDS) with a special focus on kinematics and load transmission through the functional spine unit (FSU). METHODS A literature search was performed via the PubMed online database from 1990 to 2008 using the following key words: "biomechanics," "...

BACKGROUND Some early studies with robotic-assisted pedicle screw implantation have suggested these systems increase accuracy of screw placement. However, the relationship between the success rate of screw placement and the learning curve of this new technique has not been evaluated. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES We determined whether, as a function of surgeon experience, (1) the success rate of robotic...