Image-guided spinal navigation: application to spinal metastases

Iain H. Kalfas
2001 Neurosurgical Focus  
Image-guided spinal navigation is a computer-based surgical technology that was originally developed to improve a spine surgeon's orientation to the unexposed anatomy during complex spinal procedures. 16, 18 The modality evolved from the principles of stereotactic surgery used by neurosurgeons for several decades to help localize intracranial lesions. Stereotaxy is defined as the localization of a specific point in space by using 3D coordinates. The evolution of computer-based technologies has
more » ... llowed for the more practical application of stereotactic principles to other surgery-related disorders. The management of spinal metastasis has been greatly influenced by the increased acceptance and use of spinal instrumentation devices as well as the development of more complex operative exposures. Many of these surgical techniques place a greater demand on the spine surgeon by requiring a precise spatial orientation to that part of the spinal anatomy that is not exposed in the surgical field. In particular, the extent of tumor removal and the various reconstruction techniques that require placing bone screws into the pedicles of the thoracic, lumbar, and sacral spine require "visualization" of the unexposed spi-Neurosurg Focus 11 (6):Article 5, 2001, Click here to return to Table of Contents Image-guided spinal navigation is an adjuvant surgical technology that has evolved over the past decade. It has been used as a replacement for conventional intraoperative imaging techniques to improve the spine surgeon's spatial orientation to nonvisualized anatomy. The author will review the principles of image-guided technology in spinal surgery and focus on its application to the management of spinal metastatic disease. KEY WORDS • metastasis • spine • image-guided navigation • stereotactic neurosurgery Neurosurg. Focus / Volume 11 / December, 2001 1 Abbreviations used in this paper: AP = anteroposterior; CT = computerized tomography; LED = light-emitting diode; 3D = threedimensional.
doi:10.3171/foc.2001.11.6.6 pmid:16463997 fatcat:htaobmapbbbunhkhoztyceowle