Spinal Surgery Made Easier

Spinal surgery is one of the most complicated surgeries for a neurosurgeon to perform. The spine has a number of nerves packed into a small and concentrated area. A single wrong movement can result in causing paralysis or worse for the patient. The idea of creating robots who could perform spinal surgery is not new, however it has been a slow process in the medical field to develop such a robot.

At the BRIDGE program researchers from the University of Bern,  Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology have come together to develop a sensor based surgical robot to deal with delicate spinal operations. The robot is set to provide a new level of safety when it comes to performing surgical operations.

As the population of the world ages, degenerative spinal disease is becoming more common. The practice of using pedicle screws to fuse and stabilize functionally unstable vertebrae is an important operation involving the spinal region. The surgery involves drilling ans positioning the screw into the spine and has a 15% failure rate at present.

A statistic that the sensor based surgical robot will be able to change. This science project product has the potential to make spine surgery safer and more effective as a remedy for a large number of people in the future.