3D imaging and robotics gift second chance to lives!

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2 teenage girls suffering from spinal deformity were operated upon, using an integrated system of the 3D imaging and minimally invasive robotics procedure, said Indian Spinal Injuries Centre / ISIC hospital, earlier this week.

The facility has claimed that this has become the very first healthcare facility in India to integrate 3D imaging system O-Arm with MAZOR X Stealth Edition. This is the most advanced minimally-invasive robotics procedure, for spinal, orthopaedic and neurological conditions.

A 13-year-old teenage girl who was diagnosed with early onset acquired thoracic scoliosis, bent her at 85 degrees. One more 16-year-old girl was suffering from spinal tuberculosis, since 2018. She also had difficulty in walking following the tuberculosis treatment, due to weakness in her lower limbs.

The statement said, “The surgery combining robotics and O-Arm not only helped in improving the accuracy of inserting screws during the surgeries, it also lowered their risk of paralysis as well as exposure to radiation, blood loss and postoperative pain.”

Explaining the rationale behind starting these new robotics surgery procedure, Dr. HS Chhabra - Medical Director and Chief of Spine at this hospital, said that the spine is the central support structure of the body and also is the hub of several important nerves going to other parts of the body and a wrong or extra cut can affect the patient for their entire life.

By combining both - the O-arm with the robotics, doctors were able to successfully monitor the site of the surgery and its progress in real-time. In both of these ISIC cases, the doctors and the surgical team were able see the images of the site displayed on a large mobile viewing station before, during and after the surgery.

This happened through a patient connection platform, which was a set of biocompatible devices that rigidly fix the robotic arm to the skeletal anatomy of the patient in question, in the surgery through a stable and solid metal extension - which ensures complete precision and accuracy.

This was about the amazing efforts of the doctors and the 3D imaging which were able to save these teenage girls’ life and gift them a new one. Inventions like these are blessings and have the ability to change a person’s life fully, for the better. If you know of any more such life saving technologies, tell us in the comments below. If you enjoy such stories, do visit the space for more!