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N A V I G A T I O N
physicians who lose confidence in where their instruments are located tend to slow down and perform incomplete dissections.
Some sort of robotic integration is on the horizon. For example, a system's screen might light up to warn surgeons when they approach or
touch anatomical landmarks that were previously programmed as
something to be avoided. Systems might start to give surgeons practical
feedback to guide their operative courses, and perhaps even send tactile alerts to instruments — through vibration or forcing the surgeon's
hand in such a way that he wouldn't be able to move further — to make
procedures safer.
Bite the bullet
The average cost of a new navigation system runs between $125,000
and $150,000. How can you justify that expense? To be honest, you're
stuck between a rock and a hard place. The technology is costly, but
you simply must invest in a system to stay on the cutting edge of surgical care. Surgeons are demanding the technology, and won't bring
cases to your ORs if it's not available. OSM
Dr. Senior (brent_senior@med.unc.edu) is chief of the division of rhinology,
allergy and endoscopic skull base surgery at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.
US.
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