Automated System for Discography

A new system for discography, which diagnoses the source of disc-related back or neck pain, is automated and designed to be more accurate than existing systems.

Discography is based on the premise that stressing a pain-generating disc by increasing its internal pressure should reproduce the patient's pain. During the procedure, a contrast dye solution is injected into a vertebral disc to identify the disc or discs causing the patient's pain. Accurate pressure recordings are critical to the diagnostic quality of the procedure.

The new disc stimulation system, called CDS, provides automated, controlled fluid delivery. The system was developed by Smith & Nephew's Endoscopy Division (Andover, MA, USA). Its control unit measures disc pressure throughout the procedure, minimizing the possibility of technique variations from one clinician to the next and improving accuracy. A remote control unit provides the clinician with command over the procedure from outside the sterile field, shifting the focus from the equipment to the patient.

"The CDS system provides the standard we have lacked for discography as an objective tool,” said Dr. Richard Guyer, a spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute (Plano, USA).

"Physicians can prescribe a spectrum of treatments for lower back pain,” said John Mullen, vice president, Spine Division, Smith & Nephew. "The more information physicians have about the patient's condition and pain level, the better decisions they can make about treatment options.”






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