New Aids for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Two new components have been developed to enhance a minimally invasive spine surgery system. Both have been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The first component, called the NeuroVision Intraoperative Nerve Guidance System, incorporates software and a graphical user interface to enable the surgeon to navigate past nerves while advancing cannulas to access the spine in a minimally invasive way. This system provides intraoperative electromyographic (EMG) nerve surveillance to assist the surgeon in locating spinal nerves by administering low amperage electrical energy to tissues and nerves at the operative site. The system has two modes of operation, both utilizing surgical cannulas. The detection mode advances the cannula to the operative site to support nerve detection, while the direction mode is used after nerve detection to provide the surgeon with the nerve location.

The second component, called the Hemi-Arc Surgical Navigator, enables the surgeon to accurately guide cannulas and surgical instruments to targeted areas through alignment with image-intensified C-arm fluoroscopy.radiographic imaging. The design allows for easier and faster alignment for lateral/postlateral access to the spine in a uniport unilateral procedure. The two components are the products of NuVasive, Inc. (San Diego, CA, USA), which has also developed the Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion and the Triad allograft. The company's products are designed to treat a range of pathologies, including disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, and spinal instability.




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