The new equipment, to be used by neurosurgeon Bradley Hall, MD, cost the hospital $2.5 million, and is called an O-arm.
Basically, the O-arm is a 6-foot-wide donut that’s coupled with a special carbon-fiber table. The donut is equipped with holes through the inner ring for cameras and the specially-made table — where patients lay — stretches through the middle of the donut.
The equipment allows surgeons to more precisely perform the most intricate operations, in a minimally invasive fashion.
Dr. Hall said using the O-arm technology is like have a GPS navigation system for spinal surgery.
“It allows us to have much more accurate placement of the hardware,” he said.
Though it is primarily used for spine issues, the O-arm is also sometimes employed for certain brain surgeries, officials with hospital said.
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