Retrospective analysis of pedicle screw accuracy for patients undergoing spinal surgery assisted by intraoperative computed tomography (CT) scanner AIRO® and BrainLab© navigation

Abstract

Minimally invasive spine surgery techniques for pedicle screw instrumentation are being more frequently used. They offer shorter operative times, shorter hospital stays for patients, faster recovery, less blood loss, and less damage to surrounding tissues. However, they may rely heavily on fluoroscopic imaging, and confer radiation exposure to the surgeon and team members. Use of the AIRO Mobile Intraoperative CT by Brainlab during surgery is a way to eliminate radiation exposure to staff and may improve accuracy rates for pedicle screw instrumentation. We designed a retrospective analysis of our first 12 patients who had a total of 59 pedicle screws inserted when we began to incorporate the AIRO iCT scanner to our surgical workflow. During pedicle screw insertion, projection images were saved, and compared to CT scans gone at the end of the case. We measured the distances between the projected and postprocedural screw locations, at both the screw tips and tulip heads. We observed a mean of 2.8 mm difference between the projection and postprocedural images. None of the screws inserted had any clinically significant complications, and no patient required revision surgery. Overall, iCT guided navigation with the AIRO system is a safe adjunct to spinal surgery. It decreased operator and staff radiation exposure, and helped facilitate successful MIS surgery without fluoroscopic imaging. Additional studies and research can be done to further improve accuracy and reliability.