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Monmouth Medical Center neurosurgeon David Estin, MD, became the first physician in New Jersey to utilize the O-Arm Imaging System during a surgical case that involved a spinal fusion with screw and rod stabilization of the lumbar spine.
LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, is the first hospital in New Jersey to acquire and implement the O-Arm Imaging System, a new device that can take CAT scan images of the body during surgery.
Most patients undergo imaging procedures before surgery such as CAT scans, MRIs and X-rays which provide important information to the physician. However, the information on these images may change in the operating room because of patient position and the surgical intervention itself. The ability to obtain updated accurate images during surgery is potentially of great benefit to the surgeon and the patient.
Neurosurgeon David Estin, MD, became the first physician to utilize the O-Arm Imaging System in the state, during a surgical case that involved a spinal fusion with screw and rod stabilization of the lumbar spine.
Dr. Estin explained that placing screws in the spine usually requires estimating the precise location of the bone with simple X-rays. With the O-Arm, the accuracy is dramatically improved because of the real-time 3-D images provided by the device. The O-Arm images can then be linked to an intraoperative navigation system called the “Stealth Station”.
“Using the O-Arm and the Stealth Station together results in a sort of Global Positioning System for the spine. The surgeon can view a monitor to ensure that placement of screws into the spine are essentially perfect every time,” Dr. Estin said. The greater accuracy afforded by the O-Arms’ imaging capability in the operating room, allows the procedure to be completed with less risk to the patient.
Before the procedure is completed, the O-Arm can generate a final 3-D CAT scan of the spine to check the position of the hardware. In less than 30 seconds, it will take almost 400 images, which are reconstructed on a flat panel monitor for the surgeon to review. “These images provide immediate confirmation that the hardware has been positioned ideally, before the patient leaves the operating room,” according to Dr. Estin.
Monmouth Medical Center offers a comprehensive spine surgery program. More spine surgery is performed at Monmouth than at any other hospital in the state. Through the Division of Neurosurgery, Monmouth was the first hospital in the state to offer dynamic stabilization of the lumbar spine and the first in the region to use the Sextant system for minimally invasive placement of fixation rods in the lumbar spine.
“With the addition of the O-Arm Imaging System, Monmouth Medical Center has demonstrated a commitment to cutting-edge surgical technology that will be of great benefit to patients in experiencing back pain and in need of spinal surgery,” Dr. Estin said.
The O-Arm Imaging System is available in only 20 other hospitals in the nation.
For more information or for referral to a Monmouth Medical Center physician, visit www.barnabashealth.org or call 1-888-724-7123.
CONTACT: Kristine A. Brown
Director of Public Relations
732-557-3902
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