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A D V A N C E D
I M A G I N G
thoracic fusion that they feel would benefit from a 3D scan that allows
better visualization of the vertebral body placement.
Set up is per the usual — nothing out of the ordinary. Then you turn
on the 3D module and, with a few buttons pushed, you're ready to run
the fluoroscopy in pulse mode, which gets you up to 25 frames per second. You'll see incredibly rich, detailed images of the spinal anatomy on
2 screens as the 3D spin is carried out via mechanized function. One
screen shows the frame-by-frame video of the complete rotation. The
other screen has 4 quadrants where the physician can manipulate the
axial, sagittal, lateral and dorsal planes, and view the scan from all
angles.
This lets surgeons better determine where to place screws for the
fusion procedures. If, at the end of the procedure, the surgeon wants to
double-check screw placement, we'll do another scan, and he can adjust
as needed from there.
In addition to the superior quality of the 3D reconstruction and easy setup, I also have to praise the compactness of the design. The footprint of
3D C-arms can be less than 1 square meter, so they're not eating up OR
space, and they're easy to move (an important feature for your radiologic
technologists).
Key considerations
Certainly, the vendor demos pumped up the technology but, overall, I
wouldn't say they were over the top. Now that the 3D C-arm is in place
M A R C H 2013 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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