Proof-of-concept clinical case study shows that planning of spine surgery works as well on BoneMRI as it does on a CT scan.
Utrecht, January 15th, 2020 – In a proof of concept study dr. Marc Schröder and Victor Staartjes have shown that MRI-based synthetic CT scans, known as BoneMRI, can be used for planning of a surgical procedure in the spine. The BoneMRI reconstructions were demonstrated to accurately visualize the bone anatomy in the lumbar spine, as compared to a conventional CT scan. The results of the case study have recently been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Neurosurgical Focus. It clearly shows the potential of BoneMRI for radiation-free surgical planning, near radiation-free intraoperative neuronavigation or robotic guidance, or in an adjunctive manner for diagnostic purposes.
Paper Staartjes et al. – Magnetic resonance imaging-based synthetic computed tomography of the lumbar spine for surgical planning: a clinical proof-of-concept.
With pre-surgical planning the type and size of implants can be determined prior to surgery. This ensures the surgeon has the correct implants ready for surgery. In most currently available planning software tools, a 3D scan of the bones of the patient is required. The CT scan is the standard imaging modality that can generate the images required for planning. The CT scan exposes the patient to radiation.
“Generally, my patients undergo an MRI scan for diagnosis. When I want to use planning software I need to refer them to get a CT scan”, says dr Schröder. “BoneMRI can give me the one-stop-shop imaging solution allowing me to prepare myself much better by doing a pre-planning of spinal instrumentation procedures. I am just more comfortable when I know better what to expect.”
“Additional studies are currently being performed to clinically validate the use of BoneMRI in presurgical planning and navigation.” says Peter Seevinck, CSO of MRIguidance. “With these studies we expect that we can prove the efficacy of BoneMRI as the go-to imaging modality for radiation free pre-surgical planning and navigation”.
Image: example of pre-operative implant (pedicle screw) planning with BoneMRI.