FluoroNav guides screw placement in surgery

PROVIDENCE – One of the many challenges involved in spine surgery for children is placing screws in very small places. Now, orthopedic surgeons at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital have a new guidance system to help them in this task.
Called FluoroNav, the system uses real-time imaging and three-dimensional models to enable surgeons to accurately place the screws in hard-to-see places, and to see all of the screws at the same time.
“Orthopedic spine surgery in children can be challenging as the areas that screws must be placed are often underdeveloped or much smaller than the same areas in an adult,” Dr. Craig Eberson, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, said in a statement announcing the technology.
Before, surgeons used multiple X-rays to make sure the screws were placed correctly. FluoroNav, which has been called “GPS for the spine,” reduces the need for as many X-Rays, thereby reducing radiation exposure to patients. •

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