This article appeared in the REKORD newspaper on Friday 9 November 2007

The Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital in Pretoria recently entered a new era in advanced patient care with a revolutionary 3D imaging system, the O-arm.

The O-arm imaging system, the first of its kind in Africa, increases precision in neurological and spinal surgeries, thus reducing patients and staff risk to radiation exposure. This breakthrough in surgery enables neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons to view a patient from all angles prior to surgery, as well as monitor their progress during surgery. As a result of this, patients undergoing spinal procedures may recover faster than expected.

According to Dr Louis Nel junior, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, "The use of the O-arm will enhance the Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital’s position as Africa’s neurological and orthopaedic centre of excellence." Prior to the O-arm, surgeons were only able to view patients through two-dimensional images. This meant that surgeons had to repeat imaging throughout the surgical process.

"Time is critical in the operating room and the O-arm provides essential surgical information in minimal time. It takes up to 320 images in 13 seconds within a 360° radius," says Dr Nel. The O-arm also minimises errors during spinal implants, by automatically transferring images into an image guided surgery system called stealth station treon. This allows the surgeon to navigate through a three-dimensional view of the spinal region.

The images superimposed over the O-arm generates images of the patient’s body that provides the surgeon with a constant 3D view and guides the surgeon to the correct positioning of the implants.

The O-arm, which is solely distributed by Medtronic, provides conclusive information with a single scan and ensures that the patient is not disturbed during the operation, thus reducing both patient and staff to radiation exposure.