Shaare Zedek Hospital’s Mazor X Surgical Robot Is Breaking New Ground In Spinal Surgery

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 11/15/17 | News Source: YWN

Introducing Mazor X™ – Core of the Surgical Assurance Platform for Spine Surgery. Data-enabled surgery for a streamlined and connected OR environment with three integrated processes, a one of kind surgical robot being used at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

The Pre-Op Analytics Software Suite contains tools to create a comprehensive surgical plan of the whole surgery.

3D Planning – Performed using cutting-edge anatomy recognition and vertebral segmentation algorithms for surgical visualization based on a patient’s images. The resulting Surgical Plan includes implant and trajectory placement planning. The 3D Surgical Plan may be created prior to the surgery or during the surgery using Scan & Plan.

Intra-Operative Guidance utilizes precision mechanics and the surgical arm to guide tools and implants at the right trajectory and position according to the surgical plan in the surgical field.

Step 1: Import the Pre-Op Analytics plan – Into the Mazor X Workstation.

Step 2: Attachment of Hardware – The mounting platform is rigidly attached to the patient’s spine or skull to ensure maximum accuracy throughout the surgical procedure.

Step 3: Perform a 3Define Scan – This reconstructs the 3D volume to assess the working area for the surgeon.

Step 4: 3D Synchronization – To execute the surgical Plan, the CT-based plan is registered with the patient’s spine and the mounting platform through CT-to-fluoro registration. The mounting platform’s spatial location is marked by a proprietary 3D Marker which is attached to it. Two fluoroscopic images of the 3D marker and the spine are taken (anterior-posterior and oblique views). Mazor X software then automatically matches the vertebrae seen in the fluoroscopic images to those in the pre-operative CT.

The maximum accuracy and range of activity allowed removal of a minimal tumor from the spine of a 17-year-old girl who suffered from severe back pain at night and day. It was found that the cause of pain is a small tumor, Osteoid Osteoma on her spinal column. “The only solution we were offered was aggressive surgery, which included removing some discs and fixing it,” says her mother.

‘A’ underwent surgery to remove the tumor in another hospital, which failed due to the minimal growth of the tumor that made it difficult to remove it. She was referred to the orthopedic department at Shaare Zedek and was advised to perform an operation using the robot. In an analysis performed by Dr. Yair Barzilai, the head of the spine unit, Dr. Harel Arazi, director of the spine service at Shaare Zedek, and the head of the orthopedic department, Prof. Pfizer, the tumor was removed and within a week the pain stopped.

The new robot is the product of an Israeli company, Mazor Robotics, which chose the spinal unit at Shaare Zedek as one of four global centers to participate in the development of the new model before its global distribution. Later on, Shaare Zedek was the first and only medical center in Israel where the new robot operates, and to date dozens of spinal column surgeries have been successfully performed, addressing a wide range of problems.

Dr. Harel Arazi says that more than 30 robotic operations have been performed in Shaare Zedek in children with scoliosis. “Due to the abnormal anatomical structure of the vertebrae and the risk of damage to the nerves and other important organs since there is a different structure than usual. The new robot allows greater stability and accuracy in the location of the spinal implants, thereby reducing the risk of complications during and after surgery. ”