Medtronic,
which dominates
the market and
has a reputation
for durability, has
also made regis-
tration a breeze,
says Dr. Nachlas.
"Once you regis-
ter the patient,
you just touch the
instruments to a
pad and it auto-
matically registers," he says. "It takes maybe 2 to 3 seconds."
As companies continue to improve the technology, the key considera-
tion — precision — becomes more advanced. "Every time they come
out with a new generation, it seems to be that much more accurate,"
says Dr. Nachlas. "This system is accurate to within a millimeter, which
is fine. You don't need any more than that."
What were once challenging inpatient cases can now be taken care
of in an outpatient or office setting, he adds. "You avoid the hospital,
you avoid the general anesthesia, and recovery time is almost negligi-
ble."
Stryker Profess
Dr. Matheny uses Stryker's newest entry, the Profess system, and raves
about the innovative way it deals with line-of-sight challenges. Instead of
using an infrared camera stationed above the surgical bed, one whose
line of sight can easily be interfered with, or an electromagnetic system
that may be disrupted by metal instruments or other metal objects, the
1 0 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 6
"I've done close to 15,000
of these procedures
and I love having the
assurance that everything
is done off the computer."
— Nathan E. Nachlas, MD
