A study published in Spine examines the quality of robot-assisted pedicle screw fixation in the lumbar spine.
The researchers examined 80 screws inserted. They used a cumulative summation test to examine results. The patients either underwent robot-assisted minimally invasive posterior lumbar interbody fusion or given a conventional open posterior PLIF using the freehand technique.
The researchers found:
1. Four screws in the robot group were breached.
2. Seven screws in the freehand group were breached.
3. Among the 11 screws that breached, four were categorized as grade B in the robot group; six were in the freehand group.
4. There was also one patient in the freehand group that received a grade C breach.
5. There were no cumulative summation test-driven indications that the quality of performance was inadequate for pedicle screw fixation in either group.