Researchers at Dartmouth have found a way to make back surgery safer, faster and more cost effective.
MRIs and CT scans help surgeons identify spine problems, like compressed vertebrae or herniated disks, but finding a clear path to those problem areas is not always as straightforward. Tissue and bone not only stand in the way, they can also move during spinal surgery, rendering a CT scan taken prior to surgery much less accurate.
To solve this problem, Dartmouth professors from Thayer School of Engineering and Geisel School of Medicine developed a 3-dimensional, real-time optical tracking system to guide back surgeons as they operate, like a Google Maps for the body, according to findings published in the journal Operative Neurosurgery… Continue reading.
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