In a first-of-its-kind initiative, a hospital in the national capital has introduced a highly advanced robotics system for complex spine surgeries which would reduce instances of infections, implant inaccuracies, revision surgeries, radiation exposures, patient's length of stay at the facility.

Dr H S Chhabra, the medical director-cum-chief of spine services at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) which has introduced the robotics system, said it is a specialised approach towards a complex procedure that allows planning a surgery and facilitates highly accurate and predictable execution of the plan.

Spine is one of the most important parts of the human body and performing a surgery on it is an extremely delicate procedure as even a minor error can cause long-term devastating consequences, he said.

"For a spine surgeon robotics is a boon, particularly in high-volume facilities like this one. Indian Spinal Injuries Centre is the first facility in the world outside the US to introduce this advanced Spine Robotic system which will reduce implant inaccuracies, revision surgeries, radiation exposure, length of stay and infection," Dr Chhabra said.

"Those suffering from neck or back conditions can immensely benefit from the advanced technology that allows surgeons to perform less invasive surgical procedures with smaller incisions and less operative bleeding," he explained.

This robotic system combines advanced software, robotic technology, navigation, and instrumentation. The advanced software has deep artificial intelligence and sophisticated 3D analytics component. It also has an infrared camera that continuously tracks and navigates the movement of instruments and implants in relation to the patient anatomy and surgical plans. On the hardware front, the system uses a customized robotic arm that can perform extremely difficult maneuvering to enable complex procedures with high degree of precision, Dr Chhabra said.