A new clinical study highlights efficiency in spine surgery of NextAR Spine, augmented reality surgical application

Medacta Group SA / Key word(s): Study results/Study results A new clinical study highlights efficiency in spine surgery of NextAR Spine, augmented reality surgical application 14.12.2023 / 19:00 CET/CEST MEDIA RELEASE

A new clinical study highlights efficiency in spine surgery of NextAR Spine, augmented reality surgical application

CASTEL SAN PIETRO, 14 December 2023 - Medacta Group SA (“Medacta”, SIX:MOVE), a Swiss company specializing in the design, production, and distribution of innovative, personalized, and sustainable solutions for joint replacement, sports medicine, and spine surgeries, announces the publication of a new study in the European Spine Journal which demonstrates that NextAR Spine seamlessly integrates into the OR workflow, enabling the surgeon to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and versatility in spine surgery.

"Precision and accuracy in spine surgery is critical. As stated in our recent study, NextAR, the new AR-assisted navigation system, greatly simplifies pedicle screw placement, ensuring effectiveness and accuracy. It's a reliable tool, straightforward to use, and it elevates our ability to provide safe and precise navigation for various spinal conditions," says Professor Dr. med. Bernhard Meyer, Director of the Neurosurgical Clinic and Policlinic at the University Hospital Rechts der Isar, Munich.

The study “Evaluating a cutting‑edge augmented reality‑supported navigation system for spinal instrumentation”¹ led by Prof. Dr. med. Bernhard Meyer, evaluates the efficiency, accuracy, and versatility of NextAR Spine, a navigation system that incorporates augmented reality to provide unique real-time surgical guidance, superimposed onto the operative field, enhancing precision and enabling data-driven decision-making in the placement of pedicle screws, and addressing different types of spine indications, such as trauma, degeneration, infection, and tumor.

The placement of pedicle screws has been achieved with precision using both open and percutaneous approaches in both long and short constructs, indicating a lower intraoperative revision rate (1.7%)¹ compared to the rate documented in the scientific literature with other navigation systems (3.4% by Ille at al²; 4.7% by Ryang at al³). This further highlights that NextAR Spine proves to be a reliable and safe tool for 3D imaging-based pedicle screw placement while requiring minimal setup during surgery, in line with Medacta's philosophy of healthcare sustainability. The setup is reduced to a minimum by integrating the cameras into the surgical instruments and establishing a flexible platform which includes the preoperative planning.