Philips Healthcare has launched ClarifEye, an image-guided therapy offering that blends imaging and augmented reality (AR) technology to provide real-time intraoperative feedback during minimally invasive spine surgeries.
Available in the vendor's Azurion image-guided therapy platform, ClarifyEye utilizes 3D AR technology and 2D/3D image visualization to facilitate placement of pedicle screws during spinal fusion procedures, according to Philips. The product uses four high-resolution optical cameras, which augment the surgical field with 3D conebeam CT and avoids the need for additional x-rays.
Next, a 3D AR view of the patient's external and internal anatomy is created by combining the view of the surgical field with the internal 3D view of the patient, the vendor said. Video tracking of noninvasive markers placed on the ski ensures patient tracking, according to the vendor. The system then visualizes the tip of the ClarifEye needle as it's navigated along the planned path in the spine.
"Postoperative CT scans to check implant placements are no longer necessary," said Prof. Dr. Andreas Seekamp, director of the Orthopedic and Emergency Surgery Clinic at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, Germany. As soon as surgery has been performed, practitioners can be sure that the implants are in place due to the intraoperative conebeam CT image and positioning flexibility of the system, he said.
