High Tech Navigation System Reduces Patient Risk in Intracranial, Spinal Surgeries

Jackson, Miss. - September 10, 2003-- Neurosurgeons Dr. Elio D. DeMeira and Dr. Moses Jones can't read a patient's mind, but they can certainly see inside his head.

Thanks to technology based on triangular math--the same theory that makes Global Positioning Satellites work--Dr. DeMeira and Dr. Jones, of Jackson Neurosurgery and Spine Associates, are able to "see" intracranial structures in precise relation to surgical instruments even during minimally-invasive procedures. "This greatly minimize s the risk to patients," said Dr. Jones.

The state-of-the-art equipment, Medtronic's StealthStation Treon Treatment Guidance System®, triangulates the position of surgical instruments against fixed points in the patient's skull marked via CT scan prior to surgery. Baptist acquired the system in May.

"This system enhances our minimally invasive procedures, and helps us localize better during open procedures," said Dr. Jones. The system also can be used in spinal procedures for placing screws or rods into the spine.

Prior to intracranial surgery, markers called "fiducials" are placed on the patient's head. The fiducials are small discs, similar in shape to Lifesavers candy, coated with a compound that allows them to show up on a CT scan. A CT scan is then taken with the fiducials in place.

This scan, with the fiducials clearly visible, is loaded into a computer and a three dimensional (3D) model of the head is created for viewing on a computer monitor. During surgery, the scan is displayed on the computer screen. The surgeon touches the center of the fiducials with surgical instruments equipped with light-emitting diodes. The system's camera "sees" light from the diodes and transfers a signal to the computer to identify the specific location being touched, matching the patient's physical anatomy to the computer scan. By matching the scan to the real anatomy, the surgeon can track instrumentation in the operative field.

"Before this technology was available, to obtain a biopsy of brain tumors we had to perform a crainiotomy," said Dr. Jones. "With this system, we are able to do a burr hole that is about the same diameter as a person's 'pinkie' finger, put a probe through that hole and get the tissue we need. The procedure is so much improved that it could almost be done on an outpatient basis."

During open procedures, the system helps surgeons to locate small, difficult to find lesions, thus minimizing the risk to the patient. "Some lesions--especially metastatic cancer--can be very small and difficult to locate. It can be like looking for a pea," explained Dr. Jones. "Obviously, we want to minimize risk to vital structures so extensive probing is not desirable. This system allows us to open in the right spot and know where we are going to remove even very small tumors."

While the system is not used for every neurosurgical procedure--such as for repair of herniated spinal discs--it is used for most intracranial surgeries.

Although similar technology has been in existence for awhile, Baptist's system is the best on the market, Dr. Jones commented. "It's simpler to operate and has better detection software than older systems," he said.

"We can do things surgically that in the past were a whole lot more difficult."

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