Sunday, April 15, 2012

Spine Information: 3D Back Devices Furnish Spinal Physicians a Complete View

By Jeffrey Arnold


When surgery involving a very sensitive and highly accurate procedure is called for, a number of orthopedic surgeons have realized the usage of 3-D models to be of great help. With such tools, surgeons can get a well-rounded look at the patient's injuries for thinking about and setting up surgical procedures.

Before this innovative medical model, specialists relied solely on CT scans and MRI's. With the new 3D model being used as an analytical tool, they can deliver important facts in diagnosing specific injuries and disorders, since they give the specialist an up-close and in-depth realistic view of the region of concern.

Three-dimensional models are created by medical stereolithographers who are masters in this arena. With the use of a MRI scan or CT scan, the stereolithographer can replicate a 3D device that is exactly like the structure of the medical patient. The accuracy of the model is within just 1/35th of a millimeter. This will allow the surgeon to hold the device and study the area of concern closely, which typically can merely be analyzed with imaging results. These three-dimensional models can be made for virtually any skeletal component which include the cranium and lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine.

Not only does this cutting edge and ground-breaking surgical tool permit the spine doctor to examine and identify orthopaedic problems, it also is valuable in the practicing and review of exactly what the orthopaedic surgery will involve. Surgeons are able to do a dry run of the surgery in advance of the real operation, which can considerably lessen the margin of error and minimize the time the operation would usually require.

This gives the medical patient with far lower costs of operating room (in some cases the 3-D models can save over $10,000 in surgical costs) and surgical team fees as well as anesthesiologist and physician costs. Patients are also subjected to anesthesia for a lesser amount of time, helping to reduce the dangers of problems.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment