Profess uses an "ingenious and simple solution — a simple cell phone
camera that's embedded in the handle of the instrument we're using," he
says. "Your hand never gets in the way. You can have the scope where
you want it and the instrument can still track."
Since the cameras are inexpensive and disposable, says Dr.
Matheny, Stryker "has been able to dramatically reduce the cost of the
overall system." Easy registration is another selling point, he says.
"I've been involved since Stryker was doing market research and I
didn't know whose product I was using. Our nurses remarked how
easy it was to set up and get calibrated. They kept asking me when we
were going to have the system that we trialed in that market study."
Instruments are calibrated by plugging them into a USB port, "so
the registration process is literally a fraction of the time, and works
the first time almost all the time," he says. The confidence that the
calibration won't drift "reduces the stress level and the surgeon's
blood pressure in the OR," he adds. "You can be more thorough for
your patients in a much safer way."
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