Spine surgery patients, doctors benefit from Inova’s new O-arm imaging tool

Seeing Is Believing

O-arm Mobile Surgical Imaging System helps lessen radiation exposure and improve spine surgery results

In February, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital (IMVH) added a new element to their award-winning surgical program: a spine surgery imaging system for the operating room called the O-arm.

Manufactured by Medtronic, the O-arm is the gold standard of intraoperative spinal imaging that can be used for a wide range of spinal surgeries, including lumbar, thoracic and cervical procedures. For these cases, Inova is now able to offer the latest “device of choice” for its surgeons.

“It’s an exciting technology that helps me deliver better care to the patients I serve,” says Corey Wallach, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon and Medical Director of Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute. “The O-arm is a device that not only provides intraoperative imaging but allows for real-time navigation of spinal instrumentation in three dimensions. It provides me with the information I need the most, precisely when I need it.”

The benefits of back surgery with O-arm

Before a procedure, a full, 360-degree scan can be performed in just a few minutes, and the best viewing positions for the surgical team can be established at the beginning of surgery. Then, with its neuronavigation system, the O-arm can demonstrate the proposed position of spinal instrumentation before they are even applied, and then confirm their position once placed. As a result of this technology, the effectiveness of the surgery improves, there are fewer complications, and the patients and surgical team are exposed to less radiation.

Throughout the surgery, images are displayed on a large digital flat-screen mobile viewing station, providing the surgical team with excellent visibility of the operative field.

“This technology improves my surgical workflow, enhances my visualization and gives me real-time verification throughout each procedure,” Dr. Wallach says. “In the end, this technology allows me to focus on what matters most: the patient.”

The first procedure at Inova Mount Vernon using the O-arm was performed in February, and the results have been positive.

“With any spinal procedure, success is determined by patient satisfaction and their return to an active lifestyle,” explains Dr. Wallach. “So far, our patients and I have been pleased with their results, and I am thrilled to have at my disposal this powerful new tool. It perfectly complements and magnifies the skills of our team. I am thrilled that Inova Mount Vernon Hospital has invested in this technology to better serve our community.”