Here, Dr. Hartl discusses the future of robotics and what he sees as the next big trend in spine.
Question: How do you see robotics developing in spine?
Dr. Roger Hartl: The use of robotics in spinal surgery is at its very beginning. I have no doubt that over time this will evolve into a prominent role for spinal instrumentation surgery. Currently we are still struggling with issues of workflow. Robotics fall under the bigger category of stereotactic navigation; the combination with more traditional navigation and other technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality will be important in order to take full advantage of this technology.
Q: What do you see as the next big trend in spine?
RH: In my opinion the next big trend in spine will be a more targeted approach for minimally invasive spinal surgery. We need to obtain a better understanding of which patients benefit the most from minimally invasive surgery. Endoscopic surgery will play a very important part especially in conjunction with more complex pathologies. The integration of biologics for disc regeneration, disc repair, and maybe even total disc replacement is evolving. Eventually I envision a combination of better diagnostic and therapeutic understanding of spinal pathologies, and integration of minimally invasive surgery and biologics.
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