Study Affirms Effectiveness of WatchTower Spine Navigation

Captiva Spine shared results of a study affirming the effectiveness of the WatchTower Spine Navigation System and its novel 2D registration of a pre-operative CT for real-time 3D surgical navigation as compared to navigation systems that utilize intra-operative CT scanners.

WatchTower registers a pre-operative CT scan into the O.R. with 2D C-arm imaging, employing an algorithm to provide real-time 3D navigation during surgery. This allows the surgeon to percutaneously navigate instruments and implants with enhanced accuracy, reduce intra-operative radiation for the patient and staff, and do so with the equipment the facility already owns (C-arm), eliminating the need to purchase an intra-operative CT scanner.

A recent randomized study compared the registration method and algorithm used in the WatchTower SNS system to an intra-operative CT scan-based system. The study concluded that the preoperative CT-based spinal navigation system matches the accuracy and safety of the conventional CT-based intra-operative system. Additionally, it offers the advantages of a more rapid workflow and lower intra-operative radiation exposure.

The President of Captiva Spine, Dale Mitchell, reflected, “The clinical experience documented in the recent [Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine] study demonstrates that excellent outcomes are achieved with the WatchTower SNS platform. This has profound market implications as it shows that 3D surgical navigation can be performed using pre-operative imaging without touch registration or the need for intra-operative CT scanning.”

Mitchell continued, “Eliminating the need for intra-operative scanners or open registrations for the first time provides a cost-effective navigation platform for the ASC environment and community hospital as a reality.”

Source: Captiva Spine, Inc.