Developing a program in image-guided, minimally invasive spine procedures

Minimally invasive procedures can spare the patient the trauma associated with open surgery, and is expected to lead to improved quality of care. Advances in image-guided techniques are driving the development of minimally invasive procedures. At Georgetown University Medical Center, we are developing a program to provide advanced visualization and image guidance for minimally invasive spine procedures. This new initiative is a comprehensive spine surgical program with three components: patient care, technology research and development, and clinical evaluation. In patient care, physicians from the radiology, neurosurgery, and orthopaedics departments are collaborating. In technology research and development, advances in intraoperative CT, three-dimensional (3D) visualization, instrument tracking, image registration, and mechanical guidance are required. For clinical evaluation, an outcome analysis will be conducted. In this paper, we present our program plan, including the technology developments and the clinical procedures to be investigated.