A miniature robot for fail-proof spinal procedures has received FDA approval. Named SpineAssist, the robot is the brainchild of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering Professor Moshe Shoham. It will be manufactured and marketed by Mazor Surgical Technologies, the company founded by Shoham in 2001.
The robot offers surgeons improved accuracy during complicated back surgery while minimizing risks associated with spinal surgical procedures. Such risks include nerve damage, which according to industry statistics, happens in 2 to 3 percent of spine injuries. No bigger than a soda can, it is attached directly to the patient’s body, pointing surgeons to the exact positioning needed for tools and implants. This is critical, says Professor Shoham, since a mistake in placement of even a few millimeters can cause irreversible nerve damage or paralysis.
"SpineAssist minimizes the risk of working free hand in sensitive regions of the spine," explains Prof. Shoham. "It conceives a plan for locating the spinal implants, but neither replaces the surgeon nor performs any operations. After examining and approving the recommendation, the surgeon inserts surgical instruments through the arm of the robot, thereby minimizing the danger of damaging vital organs."
Shoham adds that because of its high level of accuracy, SpineAssist reduces surgery time and invasiveness, expedites recovery and minimizes associated risks – such as infection and blood loss – of traditional spine surgery.
Mazor has already installed the first systems at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel. The company expects to install more of them at other spine centers in Europe and in the United States later this year.
The robot is being tested on a limited basis by a team led by Prof. E. Benzel and Dr. I. Lieberman at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Clinical trials are underway at Israeli spine centers located at Sheba Medical Center, Rabin Medical Center and Carmel Hospital. The locations in Israel will be the first to perform full-scale surgeries utilizing the device.
More than 500,000 spine surgeries are performed annually in the United States alone – a number currently growing by 8 percent a year. This creates a large potential market for the SpineAssist. According to analysts’ reports, the spinal industry is expected to triple its growth over the next eight years, reaching annual sales of $7 billion.