Pedicle screws are by far the most common implant used in spinal surgery, yet high rates of screw misplacements, which can lead to major neurologic and vascular damage, continue to plague the industry. Imaging and navigational systems tend not to be all that accurate and they expose surgeons and staff to considerable radiation. PediGuard from SpineGuard SA is a screwdriver-shaped and sized instrument that measures electrical conductivity to differentiate between bone and soft tissue in preparing the hole for safer positioning of pedicle screws.

A surgeon’s wish list for a dissection tool would likely include these four features: a superficial tissue hemostatic effect without deep tissue injury, frictionless cutting without distortion or sticking, on-demand rapid onset and offset of effect, and easy cleaning to maintain the pace of surgery. Domain Surgical Inc. thinks its FMwand Ferromagnetic Surgical System meets these needs. “The device is based on the principal of ferromagnetic induction, whereby radiofrequency energy is passed around a loop of wire to produce heat that is capable of cutting and coagulating tissue.

By combining near-infrared spectroscopy with ultrasound waves, clinicians now have the ability to noninvasively monitor blood flow changes and oxygen saturation in the brain. The CerOx monitor, from Israel-based Ornim Inc., is a vital organ monitoring device that can simultaneously monitor the brain and other tissue of critical care patients. The company estimates that there are approximately 10 million medical procedures annually that could benefit from CerOx, ranging from patients with traumatic brain injury to occlusive vascular disease.