Surgeons in Jerusalem have used augmented reality (AR) and a surgical robot to carry out complex spinal operation.
It is the first time the technology has been utilised in this way.
A 25-year-old man underwent the procedure at the Shaare Zedek Medical Centre (SZMC) following a fall.
The trauma team diagnosed an unstable spinal fracture, putting the man at immediate risk of paralysis and severe neurological damage.
Dr Cezar J Mizrahi, a spine neurosurgeon from the Spine Surgery Unit and the Department of Neurosurgery, operated on the patient using robot-guided, AR-assisted imaging, making him the first to undergo an augmented reality procedure guided by a surgical spine robot for the fractured spine.
It enabled the team to apply surgical screws precisely along the spinal column.
Dr Mizrahi said: ‘Bringing together AR and robotics in this minimally invasive technique had never been performed in surgery anywhere in the world. To our great joy, this combination of those innovations was to the direct benefit of this patient and the overall healthcare improvement for the people of Jerusalem and beyond.’
Likening the experience of performing surgery using an AR headset to that of a combat pilot, he said: ‘I had all the patient’s vital information, including the CT images, displayed directly in front of me. I could look one way and see the line-up of the surgical screws I had planned before the procedure and then look down and see the surgical field magnified. The experience helped me perform the procedure exactly as planned and only make adjustments I might have felt necessary as the surgery developed.’
Dr Nevo Margalit, the head of SZMC’s neurosurgery unit, said: ‘We view the chance to embrace all technological advancements for the benefit of our patients with the utmost importance. We are committed to introducing new and future technologies for improving medicine here in Israel and around the world.’
Dr Yair Barzilai, director of the spine surgery unit, added: ‘The Spine Unit at Shaare Zedek is acting as a technological pioneer, which is the result of close partnership with the digital healthcare industry which is being realised with this procedure and has been seen with the integration of other robotic technologies.
‘We were very glad to see the excellent results after this surgery performed by Dr Mizrahi where he was able to address an unstable fracture that, without successful intervention, could have seen the patient suffering from severe neurological damage.’
The hospital's LinkedIn post revealed the momentous occasion: ‘First in the World: Shaare Zedek Medical Center Utilises Augmented Reality Robotic Technology in Complex Spinal Surgery. In a further embrace of medical technology advancement that has become a hallmark of our hospital, Dr Cezar J Mizrahi, a senior spine neurosurgeon within the Helmsley Neurological Center, performed the first-ever procedure of its type utilising Augmented Reality (AR) to address an unstable spinal fracture.’
Photo caption - Dr Cezar Mizrahi performs the surgery
